(a) whether a large number of unskilled and semi-skilled Indian workers are working
overseas;
(b) if so, the details thereof, country-wise;
(c) whether overseas Indian workers are facing numerous problems regarding non-payment/
delayed payment of wages, cruelty, sexual harassment etc.; and
(d) if so, the measures taken to safeguard the interests of Indian workers abroad?
MINISTER OF OVERSEAS INDIAN AFFAIRS
(SHRI VAYALAR RAVI)
(a) Yes, Sir.
(b) A statement of annual outflow of workers based on the ECR clearance granted by the
offices of the POEs from India during the years 2005 to 2007 is given in Annexure.
(c) Complaints are received regarding non-payment/delayed payment of wages and other
forms of harassment.
(d) The following measures are taken to safeguard the interests of Indian workers abroad:
(i) In case involvement of Registered Recruiting Agents is found, action is taken under
Emigration Act like suspension/cancellation of license and forfeiture of Bank Guarantee etc.
(ii) If Unregistered Agents are involved, cases are referred to State Police Authorities for
legal action.
(iii) In case of Foreign Employers’ involvement, they are black listed and placed under prior
approval category.
(iv) The age restriction of 30 years has been made mandatory in respect of all women emigrants
with ECR passports irrespective of the nature / category of employment.
(v) The attestation of documents by the concerned Indian Missions has been made mandatory in
respect of vulnerable categories i.e. all women emigrants and unskilled labours for all
Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries.
(vi) It has been decided that every foreign employer directly recruiting an Indian emigrant
must deposit a security of US $ 2500 in the form of Bank Guarantee with the Indian Mission.
(vii) It has been decided that minimum wage for Household Service Workers(HSW) will be fixed
by the Indian diplomatic Missions in the ECR countries in the range of US $ 300-350 with due
regard to the market wage.
(viii) A massive publicity campaign has been launched to create awareness amongst the emigrant
workers.
(ix) Overseas Workers Resource Centre (OWRC) has been opened to provide a 12x7 helpline
service for emigrant workers.
(x) In order to ensure protection & welfare of workers, this Ministry has also signed
bilateral agreement with major labour receiving countries. Such MOUs have been signed with
UAE, Qatar & Kuwait. MOUs have been finalized with Malaysia and Oman.
ANNEXURE CONTAINING STATEMENT AS REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION
NO. 230 FOR ANSWER ON 27.02.2008
THE DISTRIBUTION OF ANNUAL LABOUR OUTFLOWS FROM INDIA BY DESTINATION FOR THE YEARS 2005 TO
2007
S. N. Country 2005 2006 2007
1. U.A.E. 194412 254774 312695 2. Saudi Arabia 99879 134059 195437 3. Malaysia 71041 36500 30916 4. Qatar 50222 76324 88483 5. Oman 40931 67992 95462 6.Kuwait 39124 47449 48467 7. Bahrain30060 37688 29966 8.Maldives3423 4671 ECNR 9. Mauritius 1965 1795 ECNR 10. Jordan 1851 1485 1254 11. Libya 3223 Others 15945 14175 3550 TOTAL 548853 676912 809453