11 Expats Dead in Road Crash
Mauritius comes to aid of victims
The Mauritius government has displayed a rare example of care to the families of the 11 Bangladeshi workers killed in a road accident in the island nation on January 12 this year.
On March 3, Mauritian labour minister Shakeel Ahmed travelled to Bangladesh to hand over $7,585 (Tk 557,876 approximately) to each of the deceased’s families.
“In addition, they have mobilised a fund of $90,000 (Tk 6,619,500 approximately) that will be invested in Bangladesh Bank. Each of the worker’s family will be given a monthly stipend from the investment,” Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment minister of Bangladesh, said yesterday.
He was talking to reporters at his ministry office after his return from Mauritius on Sunday.
Apart from this, the workers’ families are also to get compensation from the employing company.
The workers died only two weeks after they reached Mauritius located off the southeast coast of the African continent.
The accident occurred when the bus carrying them collided head-on with a lorry at St Julien d`Hotman on their way to work. The Mauritian driver of the bus was also killed in the crash.
The company that had employed them will have to pay six years’ wages to each of the deceased workers’ family, Mosharraf Hossain said.
Three Bangladeshis injured in the road crash were each given $ 3,000 (Tk 220,650 approximately) by the Mauritian government as compensation in March.
“I am amazed by the steps taken by the Mauritius government. We have not seen such care for workers from any other country,” the minister added.
During his stay in the country, Mosharraf visited factories and expressed satisfaction over the working condition there. Around 12,000 Bangladeshis work in the country’s Tuna fish and textile sectors.
Mauritius is also satisfied about the performance of Bangladeshi workers and wants to recruit more workers, the minister said.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
