Twitter
Advertisement

Troubles of Indian workers' in Saudi Arabia start at home

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Migrant Indian workers in Saudi Arabia are subjected to a myriad of human rights abuse. Passports of Indian workers are confiscated by employers. Many find that the terms and conditions of employment have been grossly interfered with. A mechanic is told his job is to herd camels. A driver is asked to tend to the garden. Wages are not paid for months. Work hours stretch for 15-18 hours.

The deception begins right from India: About work conditions including wages, nature of employment, hours of work and payments to the sponsor. Excessive fees are asked for employment visas. There is deception about the legality of the work arrangement.

According to the United Nations, "The employment agent himself can be considered a trafficker if s/he knows or turns a blind eye to the fact that the employer is recruiting the worker for the purpose of exploitation, but is deceiving the worker about his intention."

A large number of employers in Saudi Arabia treat migrant Indian workers like dirt. They hold the power to send them to jail with a litany of charges. Ironically, it is the responsibility of the government in India and authorities of the Gulf countries to protect the migrant worker. There are also non-state actors such as recruitment agents/visa brokers in India and the Gulf besides the sponsors in Saudi Arabia.

In a report released in July titled 'Exploited Dreams: Dispatches from Indian Migrant Workers in Saudi Arabia', Amnesty International said recruiting agents and visa brokers remain beyond the pale of regulation.

Access to remedy for migrant workers is almost totally absent. On return, workers find it harder to find regular jobs. In many cases, migrant workers are in debt and struggle to repay visa loans.

"Migrant workers in Saudi Arabia are vulnerable not only because of individual acts of deception and abuse by rogue visa brokers, recruiting agents and employers in Saudi Arabia but also because of the design and implementation of policies and laws that regulate the recruitment and employment of migrant workers in India and Saudi Arabia," says the report.

A third of the migrant workers face problems with wage payments. Wages are arbitrarily deducted. There is underpayment, late payment and even non-payment. In some cases, wages are not paid for months, or are not paid at all even though workers are forced to continue working if they want to be paid some day.

Work hours are much in excess of the eight-hour maximum prescribed by Saudi labour law. Some workers work between 15 to 18 hours a day – which severely affects their health – but are not paid or are underpaid. "Some workers said they were made to work on all seven days of the week without a day's rest," says the Amnesty report.

Another problem is confiscation of passports. The passports are confiscated by the employers, who also use residence permits as a tool to control migrant workers and prevent them from running away. Migrant workers say their sponsors refuse to give them residence permits, or delay it by months.

"Sometimes the permits are arbitrarily retained and the workers are told they would be returned for a price. Migrant workers without a residence permit cannot work legally, or move freely, and may not be admitted to hospitals for medical treatment. They can even be arrested," says the Amnesty International report.

Under the Saudi Kafala system, migrant workers must obtain an exit permit from their employer to return to their home country. Many workers find they have been deceived on work conditions and want to return but their employer can hold them back by refusing to the exit permit.


Indian workers in Saudi Arabia are part of an estimated 9 million migrant workers
Every day, close to 1,000 Indian, low-wage migrant workers travel to Saudi Arabia for work
They work in cafeterias, supermarkets, construction sites and guesthouses. They sweep streets, cook in restaurants, serve in households
Migrant Indian workers in Saudi Arabia send to India close to Rs 500 billion ($8.2 billion) every year

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement