dna edit: Violations of workers’ rights

Years ago, harrowing accounts of Gulf-returned workers had made common knowledge the exploitation they routinely endured in the hands of their employers. Yet, the steady stream of people from South and Southeast Asian countries — mostly employed as unskilled labourers in the construction sector in the Gulf — shows no signs of slowing down. Now, an AFP report based on an RTI query to the Indian Embassy provides further testimony to the gross abuse of human rights that the migrant labour population is subjected to. Between 2012 and January 2014, 502 Indian workers have died in Qatar, where 94 per cent of the total population is made up of foreign nationals. Though the report doesn’t mention the circumstances leading to such a high mortality rate, it can be assumed that most of these deaths are unnatural.
The 5 lakh Indians based there are young, which makes them eligible for hard manual labour. They risk their lives only to ensure that Qatar plays the perfect host for the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

Qatar’s construction boom has given rise to labour-intensive jobs, which in turn has provided employment opportunities to the poor from Kerala,  UP, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Lack of jobs and a pittance in terms of wages in their own countries have forced them to try their luck in a hostile foreign land, where their passports are confiscated the moment they step out of the airport.

The various forms of abuse, as listed by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, include sub-human living conditions — evident in squalid housing quarters —  utter disregard for health and safety issues, poor payments and stop payments.

What’s, however, surprising is the Indian government’s response to the cold statistics of death. Instead of owning up to its continued indifference to the plight of a work force that annually contributes about $24.93 billion to the Indian economy as remittances, Mridul Kumar, joint secretary in charge of the Gulf division in the Ministry of External Affairs, has cited the burgeoning Indian population in the Gulf as proof that all is hunky-dory. By doing so it has questioned the veracity of scathing reports from several renowned international agencies, underscoring widespread abuse. What takes the cake is the government’s laudatory note, defending the Qatar authorities: “[The] Government of Qatar continues to take several measures to further improve the living and working conditions of workers, and for further strengthening administrative, legal and other mechanisms to safeguard workers’ interests ... We appreciate these measures being taken by Qatari authorities”.

The same administration had expressed dismay at Devyani Khobragade’s alleged mistreatment by US officials over the domestic maid row, and even threatened retributive action against US diplomats based in India. Such double standards only serve to highlight its selective outrage over human rights violations. It is amply clear that it doesn’t want to sour ties with the Qatar government over the despicable conditions of these migrant workers.

Contrast this with how Europe and the US treat their expatriates, forever vigilant about their safety and rights in alien countries. By not taking up the workers’ cause, India is legitimising the actions of the Gulf countries, especially Qatar.