Lok Sabha Question No. 755 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-12-20
Subject: Ill Treatment of Works
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: CHINTAMANI MALVIYA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.755 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.12.2017

## ILL TREATMENT OF WORKERS

## † 755. PROF. CHINTAMANI MALVIYA:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the workers staying in the foreign countries especially in Middle East Asia are being ill treated by their employees and the citizens of these countries;
- (b) if so, the number of complaints received by the Government in this
- regard;
- (c) whether   the   Government   has   fixed   any   responsibility   in   this regard; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## [GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD)]

- (a) & (b) Indian   Missions/Posts   in   the   Emigration   Check   Required (ECR) countries, mostly in the Middle East, from time to time report that complaints have been received from Indian workers, regarding nonpayment of salaries and denial of legitimate labour rights and benefits such as non-issuance/renewal of residence permits, non-payment/grant of overtime allowance, weekly holidays, longer working hours, refusal to grant exit/re-entry permits for visit to India, refusal to allow the worker on final exit visa after completion of their contracts and non-provision of   medical   and   insurance   facilities   etc.   Incidents   of   confinement, abandoning of domestic sector workers by their sponsors have also been reported. A statement showing the number of complaints received by the Indian Missions in the Middle East during the current year, country-wise,  is at Annexure.
- (c) & (d) Immediately on receipt of such complaints, the same are addressed by the Indian Missions by taking them up with the concerned local government authorities for immediate resolution. The Government has taken several steps to safeguard the interests of Indian emigrants
- to the Gulf countries. These are:
- (i) The on-line MADAD portal enables the emigrant workers and their family members to register their consular grievances online and track their redressal.
- (ii) Grievances   related to   Overseas   Employment   in   notified
- Emigration   Check   Required   (ECR)   countries   including   gulf countries, can also be logged in directly by emigrants/relatives or through   the   Overseas   Workers   Resource   Centre   (OWRC)   on
- eMigrate   portal.   These   grievances   are   settled   by   respective jurisdictional   Protectors   of   Emigrants   (PoEs)   as   per   laid   down procedures.
- (iii) Missions in Gulf countries also conduct Open Houses on a regular basis where workers can seek redressal of their grievances.
- (iv) A   multi-lingual   24X7   Helpline   of   Overseas   Workers   Resource Centre (OWRC) in New Delhi provides information, guidance and grievance   redressal   on   all   issues   and   problems   pertaining   to overseas employment of Indian nationals.
- (v) Missions in Gulf countries have also established 24x7 helplines and Toll Free help lines for the benefit of Indian workers to seek help.
- (vi) An Indian Workers Resource Centre (IWRC) has been set up at Dubai and four more IWRCs have been approved in Sharjah (UAE), Riyadh and Jeddah (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), to provide guidance and counselling on all matters pertaining to overseas Indian workers.
- (vii) Migrant   Resource   Centres   have   also   been   setup   in   Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Lucknow to assist emigrants or their relatives to redress their problems/complaints regarding overseas employment.
- (viii) The Missions utilise the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) to provide   assistance   to   overseas   Indian   nationals   in   times   of distress.
- (ix) Suitable accommodation to temporarily house distressed Indian nationals has been setup in Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE and Malaysia.
- (x) Labour and Manpower Cooperation MoUs/Agreements are already in place with the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that provide the institutional framework to comprehensively discuss and review labour related issues.

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ANNEXURE

## NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS RECEIVED FROM INDIAN WORKERS BY THE GOVERNMENT DURING THE YEAR 2017 (TILL 30.11.2017)

|   S. No. | Name of Countries   | 2017 (30.11.17)   |
|----------|---------------------|-------------------|
|        1 | Afghanistan         | 02                |
|        2 | Bahrain             | 8                 |
|        3 | Indonesia           | NIL               |
|        4 | Iraq                | NA                |
|        5 | Jordan              | NIL               |
|        6 | Kuwait              | 4126              |
|        7 | Lebanon             | 38                |
|        8 | Libya               | NA                |
|        9 | Malaysia            | 1210              |
|       10 | Oman                | 3666              |

|   11. | Qatar                   | 3205   |
|-------|-------------------------|--------|
|    12 | Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | 4807   |
|    13 | Syria                   | NIL    |
|    14 | Sudan                   | 12     |
|    15 | South Sudan             | NIL    |
|    16 | Thailand                | NIL    |
|    17 | UAE                     | 543    |
|    18 | Yemen                   | NIL    |

*****