#dnaEdit: Lack of concern

The abysmal working conditions facing Indian contract labourers who opt for overseas jobs in the hope of a quick escape from poverty have not been treated with the attention they deserve. This is despite the fact that foreign remittances from India’s huge migratory workforce consistently trump the FDI inflows for which successive Indian governments have continually eased restrictions, even in the face of political opposition. What has drawn our attention to the issue is the latest incident of the families of 77 contractual workers writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that their breadwinners were being held “captive” by a private Indian steel company in Sri Lanka. The Ministry of External Affairs has claimed that these workers were “not being held captive” but were facing “labour issues” and would be repatriated to India within 48 hours. However, it has not denied that the workers had called their families in December and alleged they had not been paid in two months, their passports and work visas had been confiscated by company officials, or that the employers threatened to get them arrested when workers demanded the salary due to them.

It is imperative that the Centre get to the bottom of this affair. Investigations must be launched against the steel company and any recruiting agency that took the workers to Colombo. Such urgency will not be misplaced because issues relating to labour have a tendency to go off the public radar very quickly. It was in June that reports of 46 nurses from Kerala and 40 labourers from Punjab held hostage by the Islamic State had dominated headlines. The Centre acted quickly to facilitate the release of the nurses but the whereabouts of the Punjab labourers are unknown. In November, following a TV channel report alleging that the labourers were executed, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj cited “six sources” to claim that 39 workers were safe and alive. There was hardly a whimper of protest in Parliament over the government’s failure to secure the workers’ release. With the victims hailing from poor and disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, it is not surprising then that political pressure has also been muted. On the other hand, despite 500 nurses being rescued from war-torn Libya, 200 Kerala nurses are heading back to Benghazi, despite the risks involved with recruiting agencies demanding Rs2 lakh per job. Such is the desperation that drives Indians to take up risky jobs abroad.

In 2012-13, compared to FDI inflows of US$22.4 billion, India received foreign remittances to the tune of US$67 billion. The states of Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh accounted for much of the remittances. Within these states, it is mostly unskilled workers and construction labourers who migrate, often on temporary visas that expire leaving them at the mercy of “sponsors”. Most employers, sponsors, and contractors also take custody of passport and visa papers leaving many workers in conditions resembling bonded labour. While the Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry has entered into social security agreements and labour MOUs with Middle-East countries to ensure their commitment to the protection and welfare of Indian workers, little has been achieved. The MoUs have very general provisions, more in the nature of advisories, and there is no evidence that recruitment agencies, private companies or even host governments are treating the MoUs with the respect they deserve. It is doubtful whether joint committees envisaged by the MoUs, comprising the OIA ministry and host government officials, have been set up. Considering the economic import of remittances and the human rights violations that cannot be tolerated. India must work more closely with foreign governments to improve the lot of migrant workers.