12/08/2021
Wage theft in the Gulf: All is not lost for returnee Keralites, say experts- The New Indian Express
Flame University, Pune.According to Norka, which handles the affairs of nonresident Keralites, nearly 12 lakh of the 15.4 lakh NRIs who returned to Kerala
cited job loss as the reason for their return.
As per a report, the employers of several of the returnees committed ‘wage theft’
by way of non-payment of service benefits or wages, unpaid leaves, deduction of
monthly wages and other measures.
Divya said India can take a leaf out of the governments of Singapore and the
Philippines to get the unclaimed salaries of migrant workers.
“Singapore has set up a multi-ministry task force, which includes its Ministry of
Manpower, to ensure that in situations where its workers employed abroad are
not paid salaries, the government is alerted and informed so that it can approach
the employers and take up the matter,” said Divya. She said the Philippines
government has extended legal advice and aid related to salary claims for
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in destination countries whose contracts were
terminated due to the pandemic.
The ‘Kerala Wage Theft Report’, a repatriation survey by the Aluva-based Centre
for Indian Migrant Studies (CIMS) released recently, found a large number of
Indian workers were sent home in a hurry, on the promise that their dues will be
credited to their Indian accounts, or were abandoned in their countries of
employment by their employers. This prevented a majority of them from
accessing justice mechanisms available in those countries, said the report. CIMS
executive director Rafeek Ravuther said the unpaid dues, even on a conservative
basis, would be over `1,200 crore.
“We still have time (to get the dues). We have the full details of the people who
returned via the ‘Vande Bharat’ repatriation mission. We should create an
international justice mechanism with the countries of employment, akin to what
we did during the Kuwait War when we ensured payment of dues to repatriated
Indians, by joining hands with the UN. The mechanism should have our judges as
well as their lawmakers, policymakers, ministry of labour and the like. It should
send the message that they are willing to hear the claim of every individual,” said
Ravuther.
“The government needs to set up this mechanism. People will come forward if it
does,” he said.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2021/aug/11/wage-theft-in-the-gulf-all-is-not-lost-for-returnee-keralites-say-experts-2343017.html
3/11