Eviction delay that killed 16

By SOMAN BABY and SARA SAMI
THE COMPANY whose workers were living in the Gudaibiya labour camp where 16 were killed in a fire on Sunday was ordered six months ago to evacuate them, it was revealed yesterday.
The fire broke out three days after the end of a grace period granted to Royal Tower Construction to find them alternative accommodation, Manama Municipal Council chairman Murtadha Bader told the GDN.
He said the notice was issued in January and gave the company until July 27 to move the workers for safety reasons.
However, they were still living there on Sunday, when the fire broke out.
"I wrote a letter to the Manama Municipality in January to evacuate
this building in Gudaibiya because it did not comply with international safe
ty laws and regulations," Mr Bader told
the GDN. He described the accommodation, which housed more than 200 workers, as decrepit.
Mr Bader added that plans to relocate all labour camps from Manama for the safety of workers and their neighbours were already being discussed by the council.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Royal Tower Construction claimed arrangements were made last month to move the workers to a new camp in Sitra.
He added that they were due to be in their new accommodation by August 20. "We have been searching for an alternate accommodation for several months," said the spokesman.
"All the workers, who come from Tamil Nadu, wanted to stay together in the same place. "Finally, we found a convenient place with all the facilities in Sitra, for which we had paid an advance of BD9,000 after signing the agreement.
"We were making all arrangements there to move the workers on August 20." He said the building gutted by fire was supposed to house 160 people.
"However, some workers who live in one of our other labour camps in Manama used to come to the Gudaibiya building to spend time with their friends," said the spokesman.
"The number of more than 200 released by the police includes workers who came from the other accommodation the previous night.
"The building had 24 rooms, which could comfortably accommodate 160 workers." He said the Labour Ministry had not objected to wooden partitions being put up in the building, so that it could house more workers and claimed it was not a safety hazard.
He also denied allegations that the company used to take BD450 from workers to renew their contracts every two years. "It had been brought to our notice that a company foreman used to take money from the workers," said the spokesman.
"When he was caught, his contract was terminated and he was sent back to India. "The company never used to take any money from the workers."
Explaining why workers held CPR cards carrying the names of different companies as sponsors, the spokesman claimed all the workers were employed under the umbrella of two major companies - Royal Tower Construction and Connection Contracting. "We had made arrangements with some other small companies to work together," he added.