MAPUTO, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Mozambican company Pescamar terminated contract with the 12 crew members rescued early this year from the fishing vessel Vega 5 after being hijacked by Somali pirates in December 2010, the state AIM news agency said on Tuesday.
The company alleges that it is restructuring its staff and the 12 were no long in need as part of its reduction process. On Friday, it terminated the contract with them.
This happened just a week after the same group threatened to strike in case the company's directorate did not give them 150,000 meticais (56,000 U. S. dollars) as part of the psychological and moral damage they suffered in the hands of the Somali pirates.
"We request the company's board to be much more human with us, analyzing the process we've been through between life and death, besides I also refer to our disappeared colleagues," Jose Mandava, one of the survivors, told AIM.
"We suffered a lot because of Pescamar and today they fire us. This is a clear example of lack of human compassion for all us," he said, adding that Pescamar promised jobs and now they are removing these jobs.
The 12 members were rescued in March by an Indian navy ship after an operation along the Arabic sea, where 61 Somali pirates were captured.
