Coll 54/2 'Middle East (Official) Committee: Working Party' [‎245r] (489/642)

17,
(yt) It is ths policy of the Coapaay to repXc os
tha Indiana as rapidly sii Bahreinla can
be trained as substitutes This eonTozas
to the expressed desires of the ruling
Sheikh. The oonstruotion of an estate
suitable to the Indians at Avail ad^it
well prove a costly and wasteful project
at s later date.
(vil) The contract signed by the Indians includes
the provision "the Coopany shall either
fumiah hin with free quarters throu^i
available facilities which the) co^loyee
shall be required to utilise or grant him
an allowance of Ra per month in lion
of free quarterage in allowance of
50 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. per month is paid to each
eligible Indian "in lieu of free quarters*
and the Company have therefore discharged
their alternative contractual obligation.
If any Indian is not satisfied, he can
terminate his enplcyaent in f ooordanoe
with the terns of the contraoto
(viii) The Indians as a whole have been & amroe
of much irritation to the Coapapy^s
officials baoanse of their ozitioiaa^ and
cosqplaints during the la*ct 18 months or
so* Letters described fen scurrilous end
containing tmfound<;d charges have been
sent by some Indians to the Indi«newa~
papers; a token strike was threatened
when the ooiapany, on the opening of a new
Hospital wing at Avail, tenoinated the
arrasageaent whereby the Indians residing
in Manamsh wore dealt with there by Indian
Doctors on the CoK$>any*e behalf (there
were grave suspicions regai^ding the
certificates issued by these doctors);
they objected to rosti’icted viaitiiig hours
at ths new hospital and revested that
their relatives and friends should be
entitled to visit them at aqy time »Jid
bring their ra&els with tham (it is not
unusual in the local hoapital® for
relatives to cook their meal® at the
bedside of patients); on the evening
of the 25th January 1%#, 25 Indians
who had been admitted to the Cos^&sy’ 0
hospital due to a saild outbreak of
chicken pox complained oarjastioally about
a meal of chicken and soup, green salad,
curried vegetables, timed pears and cream.
This meal had been preceded by a tea
including bread, butter, jam, and cake and
would be followed by oval tin* and milk
before "lights out". Xa my view the
Company is not unreasonable regarding
the general conditions under which they
/employ