Home and Labour Minister Nayini Narasimha Reddy has denied that there was anyone from Telangana in jails in the Gulf countries though unskilled workers from the State went there on visit visa and ended up overstaying on account of problems linked to employment.
On his return from Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait last night, Mr. Reddy told a press conference here on Wednesday that the condition of expatriates from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh was pathetic.
They were hired here by mediators with a promise of unskilled jobs but were given skilled jobs on their arrival there. Therefore, they were left in the lurch and forced to look for employment without a hope.
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The problem was particularly severe in Qatar where about 2,000 women from East and West Godavari and Kadapa were employed as maid servants.
Mr. Reddy, who led a delegation comprising Principal Labour Secretary Rajat Kumar, said they would submit a report to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao seeking a skill development programme for migrant workers.
The students who pass out from Industrial Training Institutes would be targeted for the purpose.
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The Telangana government signed a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with 17 companies during the delegation’s five-day tour of the countries, aimed at ensuring security for workers.
The companies would directly recruit the workers here without the involvement of the middlemen.
Mr. Rajat Kumar said the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) World Cup in Qatar in 2022 held bright prospects for jobs.
The middlemen took the workers on the basis of bogus documents.