Sri Lankan workers left stranded in the UAE

A group of Sri Lankan textile workers in the United Arab Emirates have been left stranded by their employers.

Officials at the Sri Lankan consulate in Dubai told the BBC the seventeen workers had not been paid for more than three months; neither did they have their employment visas terminated by the management before being sacked --- a necessary requirement before workers can leave the Emirates.

The BBC correspondent in Dubai says such cases are common in the Gulf, although the authorities have adopted tough measures against corrupt employers and illegal immigrants.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service