So to speak: The fortune of a labourer

Three construction workers stepped out from their dilapidated labour camp and stopped to cross the road. One of them pointed a finger to a rubbish bin. They looked at the rotting mound of food overflowing the rusty tin container. The smell was overpowering. They exchanged words while they had their eyes on the decaying food. They were still looking at the bin as they were crossing the road. It was just a day after the blessed Eid. After a month long period of fasting, many people were in the mood of celebration and feasting was a big part of the plan.
As usual, they went overboard. It is as if they had a vendetta for the occasion. Needless to say, the only sensible thing they had to do was to give away the surplus food to the labourers instead of letting the worms feasting on it. What amazes me most is that tens of thousands of Omani nationals and residents, with a few exceptions, put labourers in the lowest category of the social order. The food wasted in this Eid in the Sultanate would have fed thousands of poor people living in the country. Most of them are south Asians earning too little to treat themselves for the occasion.
People are more worried during the Eid of not missing the festive times than feeding the poor. I know for a fact that the majority of the faithful who attended the Eid prayers in all mosques were construction workers. The rest, including expatriates enjoying the privilege of highly paid office jobs, did not bother at all. To paraphrase my mother, these lowly paid workers carried the torch to regenerate the true spirit of the holy festival day by being happy by what little they have, while their so-called employers and masters, overfeed themselves to a stupor.
It is not just Eid but the same can be said with other religious events such as Diwali and Christmas. These labourers would be overlooked and the true spirit of the occasions would pass them by. Their sponsors would ‘forget’ to include them in the celebrations but remember to return them to work just a day later, depriving them the holiday they are entitled. I was appalled but not shocked when a building contractor told me that only 15 percent of his profit go to the wages of the workers for the entire project. Despite the huge profit they make, these contractors never treat their labourers when the building is completed or pay them bonuses.
Silently and ever so grateful for the pittance they receive, the workers would gladly move to another site to start all over again and increase the wealth of their ungrateful bosses. Having said that, whatever happened to the worker’s union we have heard so much about? Like in developed countries, such unions usually look after the skilled workers and ignore the rest. I doubt if they will ever find a proper representation even if the union is in place and working properly.
I hear that, due to the current slowdown, many labourers were not flown back in the expense of their sponsors. The people who made money out of them during the construction boom, now claim that they cannot afford the air fares. A lot of them are allowed to stay in the country and work elsewhere on ‘free visa’ but pay a monthly commission to the sponsors. They are seen as an important source of income even though construction projects are drying out. But that consideration does not extend to the spirit of festivity when they get isolated to fend for themselves.