Construction workers and domestic help, who went in search of jobs abroad, should not fall prey to sugar-coated words of unauthorised agents.
This was the message conveyed to a gathering of workers at an awareness campaign conducted to mark the International Migrants’ Day by Meetpu Trust in association with Construction Workers’ Welfare Association at Gandhi Memorial Museum here on Thursday.
Speaking on the occasion, Madurai Regional Passport Officer S. Maniswara Raja said a majority of workers sought overseas jobs with the objective of improving their standard of living or shouldering the family burden.
Educated migrants did not encounter any problems but it was not the case with persons with low literacy or illiterates. In the process of migration, many lost their dignity, safety and future. “Everyone should think before flying abroad,” he said, and cautioned about the movement of illegal brokers and unauthorised agents.
He listed out steps to apply for passport and the documents required for obtaining fresh booklets. He warned about the nature of punishment for those who furnished wrong or fake submissions. “Don’t approach brokers. For any clarification, applicants can approach the passport officials at Passport Seva Kendra,” Mr. Maniswara Raja said.
Besides construction workers, women domestic helps were also exploited, said activist Sr. Valarmathi. There were many illiterate women, who got caught in Malaysia, Gulf countries and Iraq.
The gullible women were subjected to all kinds of torture and they could not even return home.
Narrating their experience in Iraq, Malaysia and Oman, workers from Madurai, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram, who were rescued through the intervention of the Centre, embassies and NGOs like Meetpu, said: “After pledging and selling every asset at home, we went abroad with a dream of making money. It was shattered by uncouth persons there, who ill-treated and cheated us.”
DemandsThey demanded the governments to amend laws to ensure that migrants were treated well abroad. The promises made in the agreement should not be violated. A standard labour contract between the country of origin of migrants and the one employing them should be implemented.
Pon. Kumar, president of the association, said the governments had to ensure their safety as in many cases of dispute the workers died under mysterious circumstances. Getting the bodies back home was a Herculean task, he said.