Lok Sabha Question No. 420 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-03
Subject: Unresolved Labour Cases
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Thomas Chazhikadan, Ravneet Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.420 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.02.2021

## UNRESOLVED LABOUR CASES

## 420.  SHRI THOMAS CHAZHIKADAN: SHRI RAVNEET SINGH BITTU:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether   scores   of   labour   disputes   of   Indian   migrants   remain unresolved in the Indian Embassies especially in the Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia and Oman where a huge migrant population from our country work and earn their livelihood;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise, country-wise for the last two years and the reasons for pendency;
- (c) whether the Government has taken any initiative to strengthen its grievance redressal mechanism and taken any other measures to ensure speedy resolution of these labour disputes in various countries of the world;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) if not, the reasons therefor?

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

(a) From time to time, the Indian Embassies in Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia and Oman receive complaints through e-mail/social media or by   directly   lodging   complaints   in   the   Embassy's   Labour   wings.   The grievances raised by on Indian workers include non-payment or delay in payment of their monthly wages, violating provisions of the contract, dishonoring terms related to working conditions/salary harassment at the hands of  sponsors,  confiscation   of   passports,   non-payment   of   end   of service benefits etc.

(b) The country-wise details of number of unresolved labour disputes in the last 2 years are as below:-

|   S.No. | Name of country      | Complaint pending   |
|---------|----------------------|---------------------|
|       1 | Kuwait               | 2019-1576 2020-1602 |
|       2 | Saudi Arabia, Riyadh | 2019-746 2020-780   |
|       3 | Saudi Arabia, Jeddah | 2019-780 2020-312   |

|   4. | Oman    | 2019-306 2020-435   |
|------|---------|---------------------|
|    5 | Qatar   | 2019-59 2020-392    |
|    6 | Bahrain | Total- 100          |

The main reason for pendency regarding unresolved grievances is that   the   worker   had   travelled   without   proper   employment   contracts, returned without waiting for settlement or deportation due to illegal stay during the period of complaint.

(c) & (d) On receipt of complaints from the emigrants, the same are addressed immediately by the Indian Missions by taking them up with the concerned   local   government   authorities   for   resolution.   Complaints pertaining to labour related issues are taken up by the Indian Missions with the concerned foreign employer/Labour Department officials in that country for prompt redressal. The Government has taken several steps to strengthen grievance redressal mechanism and other measures to ensure speedy resolution of these labour disputes in various countries of the world. These include:

(i) The on-line MADAD portal enables the emigrant workers and their family members to register their consular grievances on-line and track their redressal.

(ii) Grievances related to Overseas Employment in notified Emigration Check   Required   (ECR)   countries   can   also   be   lodged   directly   by emigrants/relatives   or   through   the   Pravasi   Bharatiya   Sahayata   Kendra (PBSK) on e-Migrate portal, relating to employment. These grievances are settled by respective jurisdictional Protectors of Emigrants (PoEs) as per laid down procedures.

(iii) Indian   Missions   conduct   Open   Houses   on   a   regular   basis   where workers can speak on their working conditions and seek redressal of their grievances.

(iv) A multi-lingual 24X7 Helpline of Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendra (PBSK)   in   New   Delhi   provides   information,   guidance   and   grievance redressal on all issues and problems pertaining to overseas employment of Indian nationals.

(v) Abroad Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendras (PBSK) have been set up at Dubai (UAE), Riyadh, Jeddah (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), to provide guidance and counseling on all matters pertaining to overseas Indian workers. Missions have also established 24x7 Helplines and Toll Free Helplines for the benefit of Indian workers to seek help.

(vi) Kshetriya   Pravasi   Sahayata   Kendras   (KPSK) have   been   setup   in Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Lucknow and Delhi to assist emigrants or their relatives   to   redress   their   problems/complaints   regarding   overseas employment.

(vii) Grievances brought to the notice of the Ministry and the Missions through social media, including twitter, are promptly addressed.

(viii) The Missions utilise the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) to provide assistance to overseas Indian nationals in times of distress. The guidelines of the Indian community welfare fund have been revised to expand the scope of welfare measures and to cover three key areas, namely,   assisting   overseas   Indian   nationals   in   distress   situations, community welfare activities and improvement in consular services.

(ix) 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.

(e) Question does not arise.

***