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WASHINGTON (AP/Times of India) – Indian workers who say they were lured to move to the Gulf of Mexico coastal area by false promises of permanent jobs after Hurricane Katrina are demanding that their country help stop what they call human trafficking.
They say that more than 500 Indian nationals paid recruiters $20,000 each after they were promised permanent US residency to work as welders and pipe fitters for Signal International, an oil rig construction and repair company.
Instead, they said, they received 10-month guest-worker visas and were forced into inhumane living conditions at company facilities in Mississippi and Texas.
Signal has denied allegations that it mistreated workers. The company said it will stop hiring guest workers until more safeguards are in place to prevent recruiting abuses.
Richard Marler, Signal’s president and chief executive, said he was shocked to learn that foreign workers allegedly were charged thousands of dollars by recruiters. He said Signal has severed its contract with recruiter Global Resources and its principals and plans to sue the firm.
Marler said he was hurt by allegations that workers were subjected to poor living conditions, saying Signal provided catered meals, 24-hour transportation services, Internet access and other amenities.
Oui, there is way to many bad ppl out here int the world to see how to cure the situation of it all. Maybe I am just to honest for it all but, it truly breaks my heart that we could not hire our own to do the job instead of bring ppl from other countries to do jobs that we have right here in America to do. There will always be ppl out there who are willing to take advantage of others to get what they want….not good at any lengths….
Sounds a lot like the crap being pulled on foreign workers being brought in for construction labor in Iraq, too.
And I’ve heard other stories about abuse of immigrant labor in the Gulf Coast cleanup, too — especially those without legal documentation, who would be afraid to even protest it.
We SO need a functional government again… and a Dept. of Labor that would stand up for workers instead of trying to crush unions, etc.