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‘Nearly half of Middle East returnees bear brunt of job losses’

45.5 per cent lost their jobs while 28.4 per cent of the returnees came back to India fearing the lethal virus, revealed the survey conducted by IIMD …reports Asian Lite News

 A survey conducted among those from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, who were working in the Middle East, and returned to the country through the repatriation mission when Covid-19 pandemic stuck the world last year, mainly faced job losses while some of them opted to come back to India due to the fear of the virus.

According to the survey, conducted by Thiruvananthapuram-based International Institute of Migration and Development (IIMD), 45.5 per cent lost their jobs while 28.4 per cent of the returnees came back to India fearing the lethal virus.

The survey was headed by leading migration expert S. Irudayarajan who titled his report as ‘Empty handed and Demoralized: New evidences of Wage Theft among Indian migrants during Covid-19’.

Irudayarajan told IANS that the lack of availability of reliable data prevented a full-fledged sample survey across Indian states.

“The study relied on the personal details of the returnees provided by both the Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments, and stratified random sampling was conducted on this dataset. The survey was conducted among 2,252 migrant workers who had returned during May 2020 and December 2020.

“Among the respondents, 49.1 per cent had returned from UAE and Saudi Arabia, 32.2 per cent were those employed in the industrial sector, while workers from the construction and hospitality sectors constitute 15.1 per cent and 12.3 per cent. While those from the government sector accounted for a mere 0.79 per cent,” said Irudayarajan.

ALSO READ: Kuwait starts receiving vaccinated expats

The study found out that among the workers who had lost their jobs, some were terminated and repatriated forcefully, some were given false promises about the payment of wages and dues, and only a handful of the workers received all benefits and dues before repatriation.

“The issue of ‘wage theft’ became a widespread issue across all major migration corridors. Wage theft was poorly addressed across various migration corridors due to the lack of access to justice mechanisms and labour protection systems at the country of origin and destination. In the India-Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) migration corridor, neither India nor the GCC countries are signatories to the ILO Minimum Wage Fixing Convention 1970,” added Irudayarajan.

Wage theft consists of the total or partial non-payment of a worker’s remuneration, earned through the provision of labour services, as stipulated in a written or non-written employment contract. It also includes the payment of salaries below the minimum wage, non-payment of overtime, on-payment of contractually owed benefits, the non-negotiated reduction of salaries as well as the retention of dues upon one’s contract termination.

The data indicates that 60 per cent of the repatriated workers to Kerala had lost their jobs. Among the 44.5 per cent of the people who lost the job and returned to India since May 2020, 30.7 per cent of the workers returned from Saudi Arabia.

Even though the UAE has the most prominent Indian diaspora population, more workers from Saudi Arabia lost their jobs compared to UAE — 22.3 per cent, Qatar contributes 7.1 per cent of the total workers who lost job.

Among the workers, 15 per cent of the domestic sector, including drivers, faced job loss.

He also pointed out that as the predictions indicate service sector is responsible for around 60 per cent of the job loss during the pandemic, followed by the industrial sector.

Among the people who lost jobs, most of the workers 30.18 per cent were asked to resign. Notably, 18.7 per cent of the workers were advised to travel back home without paying their salaries, and a few workers — 2.6 per cent were threatened with termination.

During the survey, most respondents were reluctant to criticize the employers and supported them by citing the financial crisis.

His study also found out that a there is a general feeling among the public and policymakers that the freshers struggled to keep their jobs at the destination country.

ALSO READ: Indian migrant workers seek justice over wage theft

ALSO READ: WAGE THEFT IN THE GULF: Kerala Expats Lost Rs 1,180 Crores

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Saudi starts receiving Umrah requests from foreigners

For concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic, only the vaccinated and the recovered will be provided with permissions…reports Asian Lite News

Saudi Arabia has started receiving requests to perform Umrah — an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca — from foreign worshippers from Monday, the government has announced.

For concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic, only the vaccinated and the recovered will be provided with permissions, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry of Haj and Umrah as saying in the announcement.

The Deputy Minister of Haj and Umrah, Abdulfattah bin Sulaiman Mashat said the authorities determine the countries from which Umrah performers come, and their numbers on a periodic basis according to the classification of preventive measures.

He called upon the performers to adhere to organisational plans and health procedures set by the Ministry.

On November 1, 2020, Saudi Arabia received foreign pilgrims under tight precautionary measures to perform Umrah for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic early last year.

Last month, Saudi Arabia had announced the successful conclusion of this year’s Hajj season, free from the Covid-19 and other contagious diseases.

Saudi Health Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah attributed the success to an integrated system of health facilities in the holy sites, highly equipped ambulances and qualified teams.

The minister added that limiting the number of domestic pilgrims during this Hajj season to 60,000 also contributed to the success, the Xinhua news agency reported.

For the second year in a row, Saudi Arabia has allowed only domestic pilgrims to performed Hajj to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

ALSO READ: Saudi Arabia to welcome vaccinated tourists from Aug 1
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Jaishankar hold talks on Afghanistan with Qatar’s Special Envoy

Indian External Affairs Minister stated that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan requires that the rights and interests of all sections of society are promoted and protected…reports Asian Lite News

External Affairs Minister.S Jaishankar on Saturday met with Qatar’s Special Envoy for Counter-terrorism and Mediation in Conflict Resolution, Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani and shared India’s perspective on recent developments in Afghanistan.

“Pleased to receive Qatar Special Envoy Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani. Shared the Indian perspective on recent developments in Afghanistan. Also the concerns of the region that I heard during recent interactions,” Jaishankar said in a tweet after meeting the Qatari envoy.

Noting that rapid deterioration of the security situation is a serious matter, the Indian External Affairs Minister stated that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan requires that the rights and interests of all sections of society are promoted and protected.

“Rapid deterioration of the security situation is a serious matter. A peaceful and stable Afghanistan requires that the rights and interests of all sections of society are promoted and protected,” Jaishankar said in another tweet.

Afghanistan Pic credit ANI

Also on Saturday, the Qatar Special Envoy for Counter-terrorism, Mediation in Conflict Resolution met with Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla in which the two sides discussed the Doha peace process on Afghanistan and concerns.

“Foreign Secretary @harshvshringla met H.E. Mr. Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani, Special Envoy of the Foreign Minister of Qatar for Counter-terrorism & Mediation in Conflict Resolution. Discussed Doha peace process on Afghanistan & concerns over the deteriorating security situation there,” a Twitter post of MEA Spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi informed.

Special Envoy of the Foreign Minister of Qatar for Counter-terrorism and Mediation of Conflict Resolution Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani was on a visit to India from 5-7 August.

Al-Qahtani had met Joint Secretary (PAI) J P Singh and exchanged views on the current situation in Afghanistan and recent developments in the Afghan peace process. He also called on Sanjay Bhattacharya, Secretary (CPV and OIA) and discussed bilateral affairs.

The Taliban is responsible for 2,978 civilian casualties (917 killed, and 2,061 injured) in the first six months of 2021. The war tactics by the Taliban include the use of IEDs, rocket fires, target killing, and ground battles

It should be remembered that Qatar will be hosting a meeting of special envoys from Russia, the US, China and Pakistan on August 11.

This meeting has been called by Russia to push intra-Afghan talks to find a political settlement in Afghanistan at a time when the Taliban have launched an offensive against the government forces in the war-torn country.

Qatar will also be hosting another meeting between the Afghan side and regional and international partners this month.

India backs President Ashraf Ghani-led government and is in talks with other stakeholders in Afghanistan. It has consistently opposed the imposition of any regime by force. (India News Network)

ALSO READ: Pakistan irked over India’s snub at UNSC meet on Afghanistan

ALSO READ: Afghanistan troop withdrawal a strategic mistake: Ex-General

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Regime shelling kills four children in northwest Syria

The artillery fire late Saturday hit a residential area in the south of the militia-dominated bastion of Idlib…reports Asian Lite News

Regime shelling has killed four children in Syria’s last major rebel bastion in the northwest of the country, a Britain-based war monitor said Sunday.

The artillery fire late Saturday hit a residential area in the south of the militia-dominated bastion of Idlib, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The victims in the village of Qastoun in the Hama province were from the same family, it said.

The Idlib region is home to nearly three million people, two-thirds of them displaced from other parts of the country during the decade-long civil war.

It is dominated by Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate, but rebels and other militants are also present.

A cease-fire deal brokered by regime ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey has largely protected the region from a new government offensive since March 2020.

But regime forces have stepped up their shelling on the south of the bastion since June.

Syrian President Bashar Assad took the oath of office for a new term last month, vowing to make “liberating those parts of the homeland that still need to be” one of his top priorities.

Syria’s war has killed around half a million people since starting in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.

ALSO READ: China, Syria vow to bolster bilateral ties
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In a first, Arab athletes secure five Olympic medals

The Saudi athlete was left with a silver medal despite going agonizingly close to a gold, but it capped a dramatic day for Hamdi after he had beaten Japan’s Ryutaro Araga 2-0 in a stunning semifinal win….reports Asian Lite News

Tokyo Olympics marked an historic and dramatic event for Arab athletes competing at this year’s Tokyo Olympics after five medals were won across four different sports.

It was late heartbreak for Saudi Arabia’s Tarek Hamdi in the final of the Men’s Karate Kumite +75kg, as he was disqualified during his bout with Sajag Ganzjadeh of Iran, who departed the mat at Nippon Budokan arena on a stretcher.

The Saudi athlete was left with a silver medal despite going agonizingly close to a gold, but it capped a dramatic day for Hamdi after he had beaten Japan’s Ryutaro Araga 2-0 in a stunning semifinal win.

And the medal win landed him the honor of being gifted SR5 million ($1.3 million) by Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Sports and President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee Prince Abdul Aziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, according to Al Arabiya.

It was better news in the karate for Egyptian Feryal Abdelaziz, who won the first Olympic karate gold medal in women’s over-61 kilogram kumite, beating Azerbaijan’s Iryna Zaretska to win Egypt’s second Olympic gold medal since 1948.

The 22-year-old Abdelaziz went ahead on a yuko with 28 seconds left in a cagey final bout. She scored again three seconds later and hung on for a 2:0 victory.

And the day got even better for Egyptian sport when Ahmed Elgendy won silver in the men’s Modern Pentathlon.

The Egyptian, 21, who also competed and won gold at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics, pushed the eventual winner — Britain’s Joseph Choong — hard to the line with a strong finish in the fourth round of shooting.

Elsewhere, a remarkable day for Arab sport was rounded off with Bahrain’s Kalkidan Gezahegne beating out heavily-fancied, world-record holder Letesenbet Gidey to a silver medal place in the women’s 10,000m race — which was won by star of the Tokyo Games Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands.

And finally, Qatar’s men’s Beach Volleyball duo made their first appearance on the Olympic podium when they sealed a bronze medal by beating their Latvian opponents 2-0.

ALSO READ: UAE calls for global cooperation to accelerate vax supply

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ICSG payment aids families of deceased domestic workers in Kuwait

Serving as an umbrella organization for several Indian associations, the ICSG coordinated procurement and distribution of food hampers in a transparent and efficient manner…reports Asian Lite News

Indian Community Support Group (ICSG), established in 2020 with support and guidance from the Indian Embassy in Kuwait, will make an ex-gratia payment of Rs100,000 (approx KD 400) to the families of domestic workers who succumbed to the COVID-19 infection in Kuwait.

Announcing the humanitarian gesture during a recent open-house interaction with the community, Indian Ambassador H.E. Sibi George said the ICSG initiative deserves the full support and appreciation of the Indian community in Kuwait.

More than 540 Indian expatriates have so far succumbed to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in many families losing their sole breadwinner. The ICSG officials, who were appointed by the Indian embassy to help the community during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, have been at the forefront in helping the Indian community by distributing hundreds of thousands of food rations to needy individuals and to families during the lockdown last year with the help of Al Najat Charity

Indian Ambassador H.E. Sibi George Pic credit: Twitter@indembkwt

Serving as an umbrella organization for several Indian associations, the ICSG coordinated procurement and distribution of food hampers in a transparent and efficient manner.

Recently ICSG also was actively involved in the air-sea bridge set up between the Governments of Kuwait and India to transport emergency medical assistance including oxygen cylinders and cryogenic tanks to help India overcome the sudden shortage of oxygen in several cities across India.

The Indian government expressed its appreciation and wholehearted support to Kuwait for their timely help in saving thousands of lives.

Chairman of ICSG, Rajpal Tyagi expressed the committee’s willingness to help distressed Indians affected by the COVID-19 crisis, and added the Group aims to ensure the wellbeing of all Indian nationals in Kuwait. He pointed out that members of ICSG were prominent and responsible members in the community, who could always be counted on to rise to any occasion that called for support to compatriots.

The ICSG committee members include Rajpal Tyagi, K.S. Lamba, Dhiraj Oberoi, S.K. Wadhawan, Ashok Kalra, Dr. Amir Ahmed, Jatinder Suri, Dr. S. Nayak, Choji Lamba, Ajai Goel, T. Remesh and Reaven D’Souza

ALSO READ: Kuwait starts receiving vaccinated expats
ALSO READ: UAE sends medical supplies to Tunisia
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Raisi Era Begins in Iran

Supreme Leader Khamenei endorses Ebrahim Raisi as new Iranian President…reports Asian Lite News

Ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi begins his term as President of the Islamic Republic. He replaces moderate president Hassan Rouhani, whose landmark achievement was the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers.

Raisi officially begins his four-year term after his election is endorsed by the Islamic republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Raisi won a presidential poll in June in which more than half the electorate stayed away after many political heavyweights were barred from standing.

A former judiciary chief, Raisi has been criticized by the West for his human rights record.

Raisi’s presidency will consolidate power in the hands of conservatives following their 2020 legislative election victory, marked by the disqualification of thousands of reformist or moderate candidates.

On July 27, he called on parliament for “cooperation” to increase Iranians’ hope in the future. “I am very hopeful for the country’s future and confident that it is possible to overcome difficulties and limitations,” he said in a statement issued by his office.

Raisi was elected by the Iranians as their eighth president since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 by promising to improve the economic conditions which have been seriously affected by US sanctions and the Covid-19 pandemic. As for foreign policy, Raisi has announced his priority is to boost cooperation and interaction with the world.

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz

Action Against Iran

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz said that Tehran has been stepping up its aggression in the Middle East and called for “action against Iran” over its alleged attack on an oil tanker last week.

In a speech during a plenum session of the Knesset or Parliament, Gantz addressed the deadly drone attack on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman on July 29, reports Xinhua news agency.

Iran has denied any involvement in the attack on the Israeli-managed ship, but security officials in Israel, the UK and the US have estimated that Tehran is behind the assault.

“Iran’s aggression in the region in general, the maritime front in particular, is escalating,” Gantz said.

The attack on the oil tanker Mercer Street, which killed two crew members, was against international law and human morals, he noted, adding that “this is exactly the reason why we must act right now against Iran”.

He said that Iran poses “a tangible and immediate threat” to the region, warning that Israel has “a variety of tools and options to protect its citizens and we’ll settle the score with whoever seeks to hurt us”.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said “Iran carried out the attack against the ship”, adding that the Jewish state has intelligence evidence of Tehran’s involvement. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has dismissed the allegations, saying they were “baseless”.

Hijack bid onboard ship

A UK maritime security agency has said the potential hijacking of the Panama-flagged MV Asphalt Princess has ended after men who boarded and seized the ship in the Gulf of Oman left the vessel. All those remaining on board are safe, officials said. However, there has been no further details given to the media, according to a BBC report.

The bitumen tanker was seized on Tuesday heading into the congested approach to the Strait of Hormuz. It is not clear who seized the ship, but analysts suspected Iranian forces.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards dismissed the reports of possible involvement as a pretext for “hostile action” against Tehran.

The men who boarded the MV Asphalt Princess were reportedly armed and are said to have ordered it to sail to Iran.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) initially warned ships of an incident before declaring a “potential hijack” hours later.

On Wednesday, the UKMTO tweeted that those who boarded the vessel had left, adding: “Vessel is safe. Incident complete.”

The incident occurred less than a week after an oil tanker operated by an Israeli-owned company was attacked by a drone off Oman, killing two security guards — one British and the other Romanian.

The US, UK and Israel blamed Iran for the attack – a claim it strongly denies.

BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner said the MV Asphalt Princess is owned by a Dubai-based company that had one of its ships hijacked two years ago by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

Gardner told BBC, according to reports, up to nine armed men boarded the vessel as it neared the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s maritime oil supplies passes.

The UKMTO earlier advised shipping services near Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman to exercise extreme caution.

Earlier in the day, four oil tankers reported that they were “not under command”, which usually means that a vessel has lost power and cannot steer. One of the ships later began moving, media reports said.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said reports involving several ships on Tuesday were “suspicious” and warned against any effort to “create a false atmosphere” against Tehran.

ALSO READ: US govt tells Israel is free to make decisions on Iran
ALSO READ: UK, Iran summon diplomats after tanker attack

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Grand Mosque gets ready to receive Umrah pilgrims

Sterilisation and perfuming processes of the Grand Mosque and its outdoor parks are going on round the clock to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic….reports Asian Lite News

The Technical and Service Authority at the Grand Mosque in Makkah has intensified its preparations for the Umrah season.

Sterilisation and perfuming processes of the Grand Mosque and its outdoor parks are going on round the clock to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 4,000 workers are sterilising the Grand Mosque and related facilities more than 10 times a day with the use of the specially bought best sterilisers and perfumes.

Almost 60,000 litres of environment-friendly sterilisers are used daily, apart from some 1,200 litres of perfumes and 470 equipment including washing machines.

The Authority has also enhanced its preventive and precautionary procedures to protect visitors of the Grand Mosque from the virus, where field teams work round the clock to implement these procedures precisely to maintain the safety of Umrah pilgrims and visitors.

ALSO READ: Saudi launches awareness campaign for Hajj, Umrah pilgrims

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Kuwait starts receiving vaccinated expats

The Kuwait Airport has received eight flights carrying 739 people on board in nine hours since the entry ban was lifted…reports Asian Lite News

The Kuwait Airport has started receiving expatriates who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 after months of an entry ban imposed in the wake of the pandemic.

Abdullah Al-Bakhsh, monitor of Projects and Planning in the Engineering Department of Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation, said in a statement that the first flights carrying expats arrived on Sunday midnight, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Kuwait Airport has received eight flights carrying 739 people on board in nine hours since the entry ban was lifted, he added.

Ibrahim Al-Sayed, an Egyptian resident who arrived in Kuwait from Cairo via transit through Lebanon, told Xinhua that the arrival procedures were very simple and he met his family members who were waiting for him at the airport.

Alia Noor Al-Ddine from Lebanon also reunited with her husband in Kuwait.

Al-Ddine said she had been forced to move between Dubai and Lebanon to follow up on her work and now she returned to Kuwait after a long wait.

For Suad Ghandoura, also an Egyptian resident, her joy was indescribable when she saw her children after months of separation.

Things were very smooth and there was no difficulty during the entry process, especially since she has got the second dose of a vaccine, Ghandoura said.

Arrivals must present the result of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours before departure.

When they land in Kuwait, they must be quarantined at home for seven days, if they want to end the quarantine early, they must have a negative PCR test result on the third day.

According to Deputy Director-general for Kuwait International Airport Affairs Saleh Al-Fadaghi, the health authorities limit the number of arrivals at the airport to about 1,000 per day.

The country decided in February to stop the entry of non-Kuwaitis to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

ALSO READ: A strong India-UAE partnership is possible in Western Indian Ocean

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Indian migrant workers seek justice over wage theft

Adv.Thamban Thomas addressing the conference. Others in the dais are M.U Ashraf, Pravasi Grievance Cell-Kerala Govt., Ibrahim Kutty, Dist.President INTUC, Harikumar K S, Dist.Secretary AIUTUC, George Stephan, Dist.Secretary RSP and Rafeek Ravuther, CIMS.

Prominent trade union forums support the demand of thousands of Gulf returnees and decided to launch a national level legal campaign to avail justice … reports Asian Lite News. Thousands of Indians flew back home from across the world during the pandemic after losing their jobs. According to a report by the Centre for Indian Migrant Studies (CIMS), around Rs 1,180 crores is yet to be paid as salaries and benefits for these expatriates

We will join the fight to address wage theft of Keralite migrants who have returned from foreign countries due to job loss following Covid-19 outbreak,” said Advocate Thampan Thomas, former member of Indian Parliament and the national secretary of Hindustan Masdoor Sangh (HMS).

He was inaugurating the national conference on wage theft of Keralite migrant workers. The event was organised by Centre for Indian Migrant Studies (CIMS), a grassroots level organisation which works for the welfare of migrants. The event was held in partnership with Thampan Thomas Foundation for Socialism and Labour Employment, Emigrants Welfare Forum and Migrant Forum in Asia.

National conference on wage theft of Keralite migrant workers held in Kochi

Several prominent political leaders including M.U Ashraf, Pravasi Grievance Cell, Kerala Govt., Ibrahim Kutty, District President, INTUC, Harikumar K S, District Secretary, AIUTUC, George Stephan, District Secretary RSP addressed the conference.

Mr Ashraf said the wage theft is the apt word to define the denial of salary.  While, Ibrahim Kutty expressed his union’s solidarity to fight wage theft of Keralite migrants. Harikumar said that issues of migrants are too complex and the governments who are responsible to address them are failing to fulfil their responsibilities.

George Stephen also supported the complaint. He said that Keralite migrants who have returned from foreign countries are struggling to migrate and the governments are doing anything to address the issue.

Kerala Wage Theft Report

Parvathy Devi, a researcher associated with the CIMS, presented a Kerala Wage Theft report.

In the report, Parvathy stated that the total wage theft suffered by Keralite migrant workers who have returned due to job loss from foreign countries following the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak will be around Rs 1,200 crore.

Thousands of Keralites had flown back home from across the world during the pandemic after losing their jobs.   As of July 15, 2021, NORKA Roots estimates that 10,98,334 returnees have lost their jobs abroad. And the NORKA data also says that 120,816 Keralites are yet to receive their unpaid salary.

Parvathy said based on their study they have found that, if one returnee has suffered a loss of Rs 1 lakh, then it would amount to Rs 1,200 crore.

National conference on wage theft of Keralite migrant workers held in Kochi

According to Parvathy, CIMS had also conducted a survey among 3,345 migrant workers out of which 397 individuals (11.86%) reported wage theft.

“Majority respondents were returnees and some of them were stranded abroad, waiting for justice,” she said.

Based on the analysis of data collected from each victim, Parvathy said an amount of Rs 6,25,873,366 has to be denied to 397 returnees due to wage theft. Based on this result, each worker has been denied Rs 1,576,507 on average.

Among the 397 Kerala migrant workers who reported the issue of wage theft, 90 per cent belong to the construction sector, two per cent in manufacturing, two per cent in transportation and 2.5 per cent comprising of other sectors such as domestic work, retail and medical.

Meanwhile, Rafeek Ravuther from CIMS said that many of the Keralite migrant workers who participated in CIMS survey were sent back to India in a hurry.

“They were sent home with the promise that their pending dues will be credited to Indian accounts or abandoned in destination countries by employers,” he added.

“This has prevented the majority of them from accessing justice mechanisms available at countries of destination. It was also found that many migrant workers were afraid to report and go forward with legal action as they feared it might affect their chances for getting a job abroad in future,” he said.

He also added that there might be several factors that shape an individual to behave this way but when a migrant worker behaves this way, it is because they are ignorant about their rights and because of their lack of trust in law enforcement agencies.

National conference on wage theft of Keralite migrant workers held in Kochi

He said the Gulf returnees were denied access to justice and it is high time the governments come forward to take initiative to help the migrant workers and their families.

Lawyers from High Court and Supreme Court were also present. They addressed the conference to share their expertise on Legal Remedies for Wage Theft. Representatives from  Swadesh Parkipandla, Sister Valarmathy, State Coordinator-(NDWM), Nasser.E, District Secretary, Kerala Pravasi Sangam, Gopi Chelakkara, CIMS UAE, Mohandas, (Ex Kairali Oman), Suresh Chandran, Keli. Riyadh,  and Fr.Xavier, Commission for Migrants. KRLCC addressed the conference.

Tomy Mathew. Ex Secretary, TTF, delivered the vote of thanks.