Day 51 – Q 3.Discuss the plight of Indian workers in the Middle East. What steps have been taken by the Government of India to address the same? Are they adequate? Suggest additional measures.
3. Discuss the plight of Indian workers in the Middle East. What steps have been taken by the Government of India to address the same? Are they adequate? Suggest additional measures.
मध्य पूर्व में भारतीय श्रमिकों की दुर्दशा पर चर्चा करें। भारत सरकार ने इसे संबोधित करने के लिए क्या कदम उठाए हैं? क्या वे पर्याप्त हैं? अतिरिक्त उपायों का सुझाव दें।
Introduction:
Middle-East countries have attracted Indian workers since 1970’s with the beginning of oil exploration and resulting boom in other sectors like infrastructure development, services- health and tourism.
Body:
Today, around 8 million Indians live and work in the Middle-East. An estimated 70% of them are blue collar workers who face various issues like non-payment/delayed payment of wages, sudden closure of companies, ill treatment, excessive working hours, filing false charges with police authorities, withholding of passports (kafala system), dishonouring terms of the contract, exit visa, etc. These problems are exacerbated and complicated by corruption, involvement of middlemen and fraudsters.
In recent years, with economic downturn downsizing and lay-offs have been reported. Added to this there are problems arising from frequent crisis and turmoil (Civil wars, incidents of terror) in the Middle East countries.
Measures taken:
- Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana which provides requisite skills and certification to youth looking for overseas job opportunities as per global standards. This is being done to prevent their exploitation at the hands of their foreign employer, due to a lack of relevant skills.
- The Indian Community Welfare Fund to meet contingency expenditure for welfare activities for overseas Indian citizens who are in distress.
- Multilingual helplines have been set up in India and in Gulf countries.
- Indian Worker Resource Centre (IWRC) has also been set up in Dubai, UAE that provides toll-free helpline and walk-in counselling facilities.
- Pension and life insurance scheme for overseas Indian workers.
- Legal aid.
Additional measures needed:
- Raising awareness among prospective employees about unfair labour practices that exist in Gulf, their rights as workers, and the available channels of recourse during their term of employment.
- Indian government can blacklist companies that violate contractual obligations and deny emigration clearance to Indian workers seeking employment in these blacklisted companies.
- Government should make permanent arrangements for evacuation at the port cities in cooperation with the host countries.
Solution:
The Indian government has to strike a balance between providing an opportunity to its citizens to work in the Gulf (and thereby benefit from their remittances) while ensuring their safety and security in a volatile region with a poor track record in protecting migrant workers’ rights.
Best answer: Kamal
