Chinese workers protest in The Bahamas

Chinese construction workers in The Bahamas have launched protests outside of their embassy to demand their return to China amid COVID-19 fears.

A representative of the Chinese embassy told reporters that around 200 workers were ‘very anxious’ to return home as cases in The Bahamas reach 2,337.

Charge d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in The Bahamas Yin Haigang explained to local media, ‘They have been here from half a year to more than one year so they are very anxious to go home. On the one hand, their job is finished. On the other hand, they are very worried about the COVID-19 situation here’.

The workers are primarily thought to be employed on The Pointe, a  6.1-acre oceanfront complex financed by China Construction America (CCA).

Last week in an address to the nation, Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis expressed his disappointment at Bahamian workers at The Pointe site who were seen working whilst not wearing their masks  – alongside their Chinese counterparts who were fully masked.

See Also

Did Jamaicans burn down a hotel for only allowing White and Chinese people?

While an official date for the workers return home hasn’t been set, Yin Haigang has estimated that they might be able to leave within the next month.

This is the second time Chinese employees of a CCA project have protested. Workers employed bt CCA developing the $3.5 billion Baha Mar hotel-and-casino project in the capital of Nassau in 2014 launched protest over unpaid wages in July 2014.