Jausa employees stage protest over non-payment of salaries

Some of the migrant employees of Jausa Construction Company staged a protest on Thursday evening alleging that they had not been paid their salaries for a long time.

The protest was carried  out by migrant workers at ‘The Gardens’ site, a residential being built by Jausa Company in Hulhumale.

A video posted on Twitter shows migrant labourers beating themselves and lying in the middle of the road during the protest outside 'The Gardens'. In the video, other migrant labourers of the staff can be seen trying to control the two active persons and take them inside the building site.

Some allege:

The company's chairman Jaufar Easa Adam is Honorary Consul for Indonesia.

Jaufar did not immediately respond to calls and text messages seeking Jausa's comment.

The Public Interest Law Centre (PILC), which provides free legal aid, is trying to reach out to these Jausa employees.

Mariyam Shunana, founder and president of PILC, told Atoll Times on Friday that two weeks ago, during a legal aid camp organised by PILC in Hulhumale, she had met two foreign employees of Jausa Company.

"They said they were bringing more people [20]. But a higher level employee from Jausa company threatened them and didn't allow them," she said.

Shunana said they were trying to meet the employees even after the video of last night's protest went viral, but it has not been possible yet.

"The PILC is trying to provide legal support to them, just has not happened yet," she said.

Jausa Construction has come under the spotlight for alleged non-payment of salaries to some employees, while three companies led by Jaufar have been added to the list of companies that have defaulted on taxes to MIRA.

The list includes tax amounts accruing from GST, green tax and withholding taxes in excess of MVR 500,000 as on 9 October 2022.