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A New Orleans jury on Wednesday ordered a ship repairing firm to pay $14 million to the victims from India. Five men from India were hired by the Alabama-based Signal International to repair oil rigs and facilities damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The men were forced to work under inhumane conditions; this is considered as labour trafficking, fraud, racketeering and discrimination and ordered it to pay $12m. Along with the firm, a Orleans lawyer and an India-based recruiter, were also found guilty and ordered to pay an additional $915,000 each.

Signal (Signal International) recruited about 500 Indian men as guest workers to repair oil rigs and facilities damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, according to plaintiffs.

When the men arrived at Signal shipyards in Pascagoula, Mississippi, they discovered that the offers made by the recruiters and agent, like good jobs and permanent US residency for their families are not seen.

Signal levied the men $1,050 per month to live in guarded labour camps where up to 24 men lived in single 1,800-square-foot (167-square-metre) units, according to the suit.

The firm has saved nearly $8million by recruiting Indian labours or staff. “The defendants exploited our clients, put their own profits over the lives of these honourable workers, and tried to deny them their day in court,” plaintiffs’ attorney and Southern Poverty Law Centre board chairman Alan Howard said in a statement.

The centre identified plaintiffs as Jacob Joseph Kadakkarappally, Hemant Khuttan, Andrews Issac Padaveettiyl, Sony Vasudevan Sulekha and Palanyandi Thangamani. Most of them are from Kerala.

The company is disagreeing with the plaintiffs’ version and saying they are following rules prescribed by the law.

-Kannamsai