In the wake of increasing cases of ill-treatment of its workers abroad, India has decided to sign memoranda of understanding with various Gulf countries and Malaysia to ensure welfare of the emigrants.
Taking a lead in efforts to protect the rights of migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates, the government there has decided to amend its labour laws and provide smart cards to Indian workers which will contain their details.
UAE has agreed to set up a Joint Working Group to deal with problems relating to overseas Indian workers and to address their grievances.
"MoU on Labour and Employment is proposed to be negotiated and concluded with major labour receiving countries, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar in the Gulf and Malaysia in South-East Asia," Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi told PTI in New Delhi.
The Ministry for Overseas Indian Affairs proposes to create an Overseas Indian Welfare Fund, which will be deployed for welfare measures for overseas Indian workers' benefit.
Ravi, who recently undertook a visit to Gulf countries in the wake of complaints of ill-treatment by Indian workers, said several reforms in emigration of workers needed to be taken immediately to address their problems.
Hundreds and thousands of Indians go to Gulf countries every year for work, with last year accounting for about a million. Many of them face exploitation and abuse. Many are not paid salaries as promised or are not paid at all for months together.
Over the last three months, there have been incidents of Indian workers resorting to strikes and sometimes allegedly violent means of protest against ill-treatment by their employers in the Gulf. Two such incidents occurred in Dubai in quick succession.
The MOIA has detected complaints regarding even denial of food, water and power supply, particularly in Saudi Arabia.
There have been cases of Indian women working as housemaids in Gulf countries, being forced into prostitution.
To regulate the emigration of workers and check the practice of illegal recruitment, government has decided to amend the 1983 Emigration Act to make punishment for unauthorised recruitment harsher by raising the minimum imprisonment to five years from the present six months.
The amount of fine will be increased manifold from Rs 1,000 to Rs 25,000.
By amending the Act, the ministry intends to make recruiting agents answerable and ensure proper screening of employment of each worker, Ravi said.
The aim is to make recruiting agents responsible for every recruitment and well-being of each person sent abroad for work.
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