It was revealed that only nine respondents among the 397 were aware of the legal measures
they could take to claim unpaid dues and wages after return to their country of origin. Along
with the survey, CIMS, an organisation which has been handling issues of Indian migrant
workers for over two decades, has also been filing cases of grievance since August 2020 in the
MADAD portal, run by the Union Ministry of External Affairs. Unfortunately, none of the cases
were resolved in a way that the worker receives justice for wage theft. None of the returnees
were able to file a case through the MEA or generate a power of attorney for the same purpose
due to delay on the part of Indian missions abroad.
Firms run by Indians
The survey acknowledges the difficulty in accessing women migrant workers to document
their experience with wage theft. The survey results include only five women workers.
Ironically, some of the perpetrators of wage theft, who run the companies abroad, happen to
be Indian citizens. In October 2020, The Hindu had reported the case of 286 repatriated
workers of the Nasser S. Al-Hajri Corporation (NSH) in Saudi Arabia, who were being denied
their severance pay. Seven of these workers have filed police complaints in Kerala against the
management staff of Kerala origin, but no action has been taken.
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