UAE | Employment

India tries to clamp down on the exploitation of unskilled labourers

Immigration clearance for unskilled labourers in India will only be given if the companies recruiting them submit relevant documents and get these attested by the Indian consulate or embassy.

  • By Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 00:00 July 27, 2006
  • Gulf News

Dubai: Immigration clearance for unskilled labourers in India will only be given if the companies recruiting them submit relevant documents and get these attested by the Indian consulate or embassy.

The Protector of Immigrants at various airports in India is keeping a close eye on unskilled Indian labourers travelling overseas on visit visas issued by companies or travel agencies.

This is done to try to protect Indian labourers heading overseas from becoming easy prey to unscrupulous agents and dubious overseas companies.

Overseas Indian Ministry records show that there are around five million Indian workers in Gulf countries Bahrain has 400,000, the UAE 1.8 million and Saudi Arabia has 1.4 million.

The remittance made to India by them is estimated at $15 billion (Dh55 billion) annually.

India is involved in drafting a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on labour with countries in the Middle East.

"The MoU will ensure better wages and living conditions for our labour force in Middle East countries," said a diplomatic source.

According to diplomatic sources in India, the request to tighten immigration at airports had also come from Indian ambassadors in the Middle East and GCC countries to Vayalar Ravi, the Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, during his visit to Gulf countries earlier this year.

"Companies in UAE wanting to recruit Indian labourers are showing responsibility by getting us all the relevant documents for attestation," said B.S. Mubarak, Indian labour consul.

"There are companies who bring labour on individual visas and there are companies who recruit labour in bulk under group visas, for which they need to get permission from the UAE Ministry of Labour," he added.

The companies are then required to get their permission letter, the licence copy of the recruiting agency through which they are looking to recruit labour, the commercial licence and the employment contract copy.

"A thorough check is run on all the documents. We also make sure that the recruitment agency in India holds a valid licence.

"This is because licences to recruitment agencies in India are issued on yearly and bi-yearly basis," he said.

"We also go through the company's record. If it features in the list of companies that are being blacklisted by us the application is turned down."

Once all paperwork is in order the consulate gives its 'go ahead' signal by attesting the documents, a copy of which is then forwarded to India.

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