Indian workers exploited in US, takes refuge in DC church

Nearly 100 Indian workers hired by a marine construction company in America, alleged that they were lured and later exploited at the company shipyard in Mississippi.

The workers, mostly welders and pipe–fitters, accused their American employer Signal International for luring them into the country with promises of a US Green Card and permanent residency in exchange for a $20,000 fee.

They alleged that they were treated like slaves and only given a 10–month work visa.

“When we asked the company about this they said shut up and sit down otherwise we'll deport you to India. We know the conditions in India are worse than this. When we requested if we can live outside the main camp they said yes but you still have to pay $1050 per month because we build this camp for you," bewailed Hemant Khuttan, a former Signal employee.

However, Signal International's CEO Richard Marler has denied the charges of abuse and said, "Signal International put its trust in the wrong people. It is the recruiting company that lured the men. The company has always treated its employees with honesty, dignity and respect."

Ronen Sen, the Indian Ambassador who addressed the problems of the workers said, “Despite the fact that we have a system in place, there will always be unscrupulous middle men and agents. And by coming and talking to us you are helping us make the system stronger so that this doesn't happen to others.”

The workers have reported their situation to the U.S. Department of Justice and are calling for Signal International to be prosecuted on human trafficking charges.

Says a former Signal worker Sabulal Vijayan, "For more than one year, hundreds of Indian workers at Signal International have been living like slaves. Today the workers are coming out to declare their freedom. This trafficking needs to end."

Furthermore, the workers claimed that Signal forced them to live in substandard housing, with 24 men crammed into a small room. The company even charged them $1,000 a month to live in company housing.

The workers last week met with their growing network of supporters and allies as they traveled through key sites of the US civil rights struggle, including Jackson, Mississippi; Selma, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; and Greensboro, North Carolina. On March 26, they arrived DC.

"Mahatma Gandhi's salt satyagraha exposed the tyranny of the British tax system. Our satyagraha will unmask the US guest worker programme as a system of bonded labour," workers' leader Rajan Pazhambalakode said at a rally in New Orleans

The workers have taken refuge in a local DC church. They will spend the next week in Washington DC meeting Indian and American lawmakers.