Distress hotline for Indians gets over 14,600 calls

Dubai: A hotline for UAE-based Indians in distress received more than 14,600 calls last year, officials said.

Grievances on 800 INDIA (800 46342) were mostly work-related complaints and “occasional” calls regarding debt problems, the Indian consulate in Dubai said.

The bulk of the callers reported “contract violations, bad working conditions, harassment at work, non-payment of salary, unauthorised retention of passport, and difficulties in obtaining release from employers”.

The round-the-clock toll-free number was launched in 2010 by the Indian Workers Resource Centre (IWRC), which offers free legal, psychological and financial counselling for Indians in the UAE.

Last year, IWRC held almost 960 legal counselling sessions.

IWRC also runs awareness campaigns at labour housing facilities to educate workers about their rights and responsibilities in the UAE.

All calls are registered and recorded for possible follow ups, and any advice given “is in accordance with the UAE labour laws and other applicable rules”.

The consulate said: “If counselling or legal consultation is required, an appointment is given to the caller, with date and time, to personally meet and discuss the matter further. No professional counselling is given online.”

It added that “most of the workers are not aware of the facilities available for them to redress their grievances, which is available to them through IWRC, which is a call away.

“Most importantly, the facility provides the caller an address to properly express his problem freely, without being in the constraints of an office.”

The hotline staff can speak English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.

Besides the hotline, the consulate has a dedicated number (050 734 7676) for death-related formalities. There is also a daily Open House in the morning at the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi and the consulate in Dubai.