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.
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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.
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“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.