Ravi warns unsrupulous recruiting agents

Dubai, Dec 16: India will take stern action under the Emigration Act against all recruiting agents involved in cheating innocent emigrant workers, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi has asserted.

Seeking to address the hardships of workers, the Ministry has initiated discussions with Gulf countries, and the labour agreements would be inked soon.

A Memorandum of Understanding with the UAE has already been signed. Similar MoUs with Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain are under way.

These workers often face various problems and hardships such as unwarranted change in employment contract, non-payment/delay in payment of salaries, long working hours, lack of medical and other logistic facilities, poor working environment, and abuse of female workers, Mr Ravi told Times of Oman in an interview.

Whenever employers violate employment contracts, the Ministry places such employers/companies in prior approval category (blacklist) in consultation with the respective Indian mission.

To ensure efficient, convenient, cost-effective and reliable emigration services in a transparent manner, the Ministry is in the process of introducing e-governance in emigration and emigration procedures involving all stakeholders, he said.

''The ministry is also trying to liberalise the emigration regime. The education criteria for Emigration Check Not Required (ECNR) passports eligibility is being relaxed from the present qualification of ten plus two and above to matriculation and above.

To provide deterrent punishment to those who cheat innocent emigrants, we have initiated a proposal to amend the Emigration Act, 1983, the Minister added.

To benefit NRIs, the Ministry will also enter into social security agreements with some of the developed nations like Belgium, France, The Netherlands, etc, he added.

The majority of the five million overseas indian workers are in the six-member Arab Gulf states.

UNI