Emergency relief pension sought for Gulf returnees

Indian diplomatic mission urged to collect dues from Saudi companies

August 25, 2016 12:00 am | Updated 08:20 am IST - Kozhikode:

The UAE-based Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust (PBWT) has urged the Union government to offer Indian workers returning from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries an emergency monthly relief pension for at least one year.

K.V. Shamsudheen , chairman of the PBWT, which is dedicated to assisting troubled lower and middle income NRIs in the Gulf, welcomed the decision of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj appealing Indian workers who had lost their jobs in Saudi Arabia to file their claims for unpaid dues with their employers and return to India.

“It is good that the Central government has taken a firm decision to bear the cost of their return. But most of these people are reluctant to return thinking of their families in India. Many believe their return would be a liability for the families. But if offered a financial assistance, they will definitely return,” he said.

Financial liabilities

Most of the workers were unwilling to come back on similar occasions in the past.

“The reason for their disinclination is their pathetic financial condition. Many of them had gone abroad after paying Rs.1 lakh to Rs.2 lakh to recruiting agents. The money could have been sourced via loans with high interest rate. So they were working abroad to pay the loan and interest till they lost the jobs,” Mr. Shamsudheen said.

“If these jobless NRIs return home, sometimes even their families will not welcome them. Further, the money lenders will harass them and recover all their earnings including their house,” he said.

Unpaid dues

Mr. Shamsudheen said the expatriates were also not sure whether they would get their dues if they filed claims for unpaid salary with their employers.

The Indian diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia should collect the unpaid dues from the companies and remit the amounts to the workers. It should also initiate legal action against the companies, he said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.