Lok Sabha Question No. 1584 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-27
Subject: Indian Domestic Helps Abroad
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: D. Ravikumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1584 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.11.2019

## INDIAN DOMESTIC HELPS ABROAD

## 1584.  SHRI RAVIKUMAR D:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state :

- (a) whether apps are being used to sell domestic helps in Kuwait and it is nothing but a modern day slave trade and if so, the plans devised by our Government to protect our women who are working in Gulf countries from such abuse;
- (b) whether the Government has any data of our women working as domestic servants in Gulf countries including Kuwait; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS [SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN]

(a) According to certain reports in the media, digital application was used soliciting the services of domestic workers for Kuwait. The Country's laws are against human trafficking. The concerned authority of the Government of Kuwait responded promptly to the media reports   and   took   necessary   action   against   such   application   as   well   as   similar   other websites. Mission is also in touch with the Kuwait authorities to protect Indian workers from use of such applications in Kuwait. No case of any Indian victim through such means has come to the knowledge of the Mission.

The Government has put in place the following measures to safeguard and regulate emigration of Indian women workers for overseas employment in Gulf countries:

- (i) All women emigrants (Except Nurses) emigrating on ECR passports to ECR countries irrespective of nature/category of employment must be above the age of 30 years.
- (ii) If the foreign employer wants to recruit Indian female workers having ECR passports through Indian Recruiting Agents for overseas employment in 18 ECR countries, they can only do so by engaging any of the state run Recruiting Agencies.

At   present   there   are   nine   such   agencies   namely   NORKA   Roots   and   Overseas Development and Employment Promotion Consultants (ODEPC) of Kerala, Overseas Manpower   Corporation   Ltd.   (OMCL)   of   T amil   Nadu,   Uttar   Pradesh   Financial Corporation (UPFC) of Uttar Pradesh, Overseas Manpower Company Andhra Pradesh Limited   (OMCAP)   of   Andhra   Pradesh,   T elangana   Overseas   Manpower   Company Limited (TOMCOM) of Telangana, Karnataka State Unorganised Workers Social Security Board (KUWSSB) , Karnataka and Karnataka Vocational Training & Skill Development Corporation (KVTSDC),  Karnataka.

- (iii) The Foreign Employer is required to deposit a Bank Guarantee equivalent to US $2500 for recruiting each woman worker in the respective Indian Mission, in case of direct recruitment.
- (iv) Embassy attestation has been made mandatory in respect of direct recruitment of all ECR passport holder women workers in respect of all ECR countries;
- (v) Labour and Manpower Cooperation MoUs/Agreements are in place with the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that provide the institutional framework to comprehensively discuss and review labour related issues.  In accordance with the

Labour and Manpower Cooperation/Agreement, Joint Working Group (JWG) meetings are held on regular basis to discuss various labour related issues, including the working conditions of Indian domestic workers in these countries.

(b) & (c) There is no mechanism at present to prepare a comprehensive database of women working as domestic servants in  Gulf   Countries   because   a   number   of   such category workers are holders of Emigration Check Not Required (ECNR) passport and hence not required to take either clearance or register before departure from India. In addition, female domestic workers are going to Gulf Countries with tourist visa/ family visit visa and subsequently take employment there. In such cases also they do not need to take clearance or register. The eMigrate system captures data for female domestic workers who are holders of Emigration Check Required (ECR) passports travelling to Gulf Countries for overseas employment after obtaining Emigration Clearances (EC).

Number of EC granted to such workers during the year 2015-2019(31.10.2019) for six Gulf Countries are as under.

|   S. No. | Country              |   2015 |   2016 |   2017 |   2018 |   2019 (31.10.19) |
|----------|----------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|-------------------|
|        1 | Bahrain              |     58 |     59 |     51 |     38 |                30 |
|        2 | Kuwait               |     81 |      3 |      0 |     38 |               774 |
|        3 | Oman                 |    253 |    179 |    158 |     94 |                85 |
|        4 | Qatar                |      2 |      1 |      0 |      0 |                 2 |
|        5 | Saudi Arabia         |    151 |    145 |     75 |      1 |                 0 |
|        6 | United Arab Emirates |    664 |    644 |    529 |    310 |               178 |

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