Chennai
Fathima, a resident of Vellore, went to Kuwait about a year ago after an agent offered a job as a domestic help. Her salary was supposed to be Rs 25,000 per month. Now, however, Fathima complains of being tortured by her employers and her family members are struggling to get her back.
Saleem, Fathima’s husband, said, “She got the job via an agent who was from my locality in Vellore and used to work in Kuwait so we trusted him and my wife went for work there after all formalities were completed.”
“They paid her salary for two months and simultaneously began to increase her working hours to more than 12. When she informed the agent about it and requested to be allotted to a different house, her current employers began to torture her physically and stopped paying her salary,” said Saleem.
He added that he has been trying to contact Fathima for about a month, but in vain and the agent, too, has not been of any help. “We complained to the police but they have asked us to request the embassy for help as they cannot interfere. I don’t know how to approach the embassy,” said Saleem.
Such abuse of power over migrant workers from Tamil Nadu is not limited to only women in other countries, especially those in the middle east. Gaurav, a 21-year-old graduate in mechanical engineering, managed to get a job in Dubai through an agency in Chennai and he was promised a salary of Rs 35,000. When he reported for work, however, Gaurav realised that he had been tricked. His employers used him as a labourer.
His mother Rajalakshmi said, “While Gaurav was looking for jobs, he came across a job consulting agency in Ekkatuthangal. They said they have a good job for him and that he can earn Rs 35,000 from it and his employers would also take care of his food and accommodation.”
“They arranged for his passport and visa and took him to Dubai eight months ago. When he reached there, he was given wiring work in a godown. As he was not given any safety equipment, he suffered an electric shock and fell ill. Later, the agents made him shift jobs every 15-20 days and stopped paying him. He was finally made to work as a labourer and was not even given proper food and accommodation,” she added.
When Gaurav filed a complaint at the labour court in Dubai, the employers tortured him physically and took his passport away. Gaurav was repeatedly threatened and when he requested to be allowed to return home, the employers said that they have signed a two-year contract with the agency and hence, they cannot let him go. Rajalakshmi has been to numerous agencies and also approached Commissionerate of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non-resident Tamils to get her son back to Chennai, however, the authorities have not given any assurance yet.
A large number of people from the State go to other countries in search of work but are cheated by agents or employers. These employees are not only denied salary but are also tortured physically and mentally. Also, on most occasions, the employers take away the migrants’ phones and leave them unable to communicate with their families or approach embassy officials if they need help. Very few of them manage to return to India after paying the employers as they claim to have paid the job agents while employingthe workers.
Vasanthamani, a resident of Tirupur, who was sent to Kuwait for domestic work through a job consultancy, said her employers did not provide her proper food or money. “I begged them that I want to go back to my country but they said they have paid for my transport and so I could only return after serving for the period of time I was hired for,” Vasanthamani said.
“When I protested this harsh treatment, they sent me to an isolated place and took away my phone, money and belongings. They told me to pay Rs 2 lakh to get out of the country and before I leave, I was forced to sign four blank papers. They warned me not to disclose this matter to anyone or else they would defame me. Only then could I return home,” she added.
According to the National Domestic Workers Movement and Association State co-ordinator Valarmathi, there are many people who are offered attractive pay in gulf countries by fraudulent job consultancies. “Many of them don’t even know the conditions of the contract they sign and their rights.After being taken for work, these people are tortured and treated as slaves, being made to work for more than 20 hours. We request the government authorities to train these domestic workers before they go for work in other countries and keep a track of all the workers who go abroad,” she said.
But, the employers in other countries have a different version of the story and claim that Indian job agencies and consultancies charge them a hefty amount to supply skilled labour but often the labourers or workers are not aware of the terms, conditions and the nature of the work that theysign up for.
Officials with the Commissionerate of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non-Resident Tamils said that many employers cooperate when approached to return these workers and do not harm them intentionally. “More than 60 per cent of workers who go to other countries for work are not aware of the rules in other countries and are unable to adapt to the working conditions. Many employers complain that Indian consultancies make them false promises and cheat them,” said the official.
The authorities also stress on the need for awareness among the public against fraudulent job agencies and should inform the Indian embassy when they are seeking employment in other countries.
“If people who are taking up employment in other countries inform the embassy, it is easier for the authorities to keep a track of their whereabouts. We deal with at least 600 cases of harassment of workers in other countries every year, the number hit 622 last year.
The awareness has increased over the years but there is a need to have a more organised structure for the same,” said Dinesh Ponraj, director, Commissionerate of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non-resident Tamils. They contact the Indian Embassy to initiate talks with foreign embassy and employers there torescue these workers.
“We also update all the information on the Madad e-portal. The Madad (help) Portal is an online grievance monitoring system launched by the Ministry of External Affairs that provides Indian citizens living abroad to file consular grievances to the Indian government. We are scaling up the structure of the Commissionerate of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non-Resident Tamils to launch a company that can keep track of all the people who go for work in foreign countries,” added Dinesh.
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