For the well-informed, it is no news that retrenched Indians in West Asia are heading home (“ >Retrenched Indians to come back home ”, Aug. 1). Those who could portend trouble began leaving Saudi Arabia a year ago in batches, a development which has escaped media attention. Irrespective of their nature of employment, many Indians are planning to leave the Gulf. Blue-collar workers alone are biding their time as they know that they will face unemployment back in India.
V. Lakshmanan,
Tirupur, Tamil Nadu
Slowdown in economic activity and its very discernible impact in the form of falling wages, closure of companies and unemployment are what Gulf countries will be looking at. With the Indian community now facing a grave threat of mass job losses, no stone should be left unturned by the Indian government to usher in measures that will help them find new jobs and lead a dignified life.
M. Jeyaram,
Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu
The almost seven-million-strong Indian community in the Gulf may have survived a number of crises which include the invasion of Kuwait and the Gulf war. But this time round, the impact of the economic crisis could affect India, which banks on crucial labour remittances. Kerala could be significantly hit as more than 2.5 million of its people work in the region. The decision of some Gulf countries to now impose income and other forms of taxation, changes in employment policies which now prefer natives — called “Saudisation and Omanisation” — along with labour being laid off in low-income and labour-oriented sectors could result in a grave crisis. There are also cases of “cheaper labour” from other Asian countries such as the Philippines and Bangladesh being given preference over Indian workers. One hopes that the Indian government has long-term plans as the Gulf boom is not going to last.
Rajan Mathew,
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
