Ministry of External Affairs has taken action
The swift move made by Sushma Swaraj, the Union Minister for External Affairs, to address the issue of the stranded Indian workers in Saudi Arabia must be appreciated. The immediate establishment of a ‘food line' by the Indian Consulate in Jeddah for the hapless workers who are surviving without wages for the last eight months is considered as the right move by the Ministry of External Affairs for the time being. The visit paid by Union Minister VK Singh will help the Government make an on the spot assessment of the ground situation for a possible evacuation of around 10,000 workers currently facing acute crisis in Saudi Arabia. But the most complex issue in regard to these labourers is the securing back their wages and it is hoped that the Government will take up this crucial matter both with the concerned Ministry and the enterprises like Saudi Oger which alone has kept around 2,450 Indian workers in its payroll. It is really strange that a rich oil nation like Saudi Arabia that has considerably maintained a robust economy till date, is not been able to pay a huge hired labour force for almost about a year. Before the matter has come to such a pass, the Saudi Government should have initiated necessary steps at least to release the basic minimum salary so that the workers from a friendly nation like India does not go hungry. Falling oil prices is definitely a global problem, but that cannot be an excuse for laying off and withholding salaries of workers by any organisation, whether public or private in a country like Saudi Arabia.
The planned evacuation of thousands of retrenched workers from Saudi Arabia will be on record an operation carried by the Government of India for the first time during peace time. Normally, such operations are done in times of war and natural calamities, but this time evacuating labourers will certainly set a new trend and it may scare many skilled workers not to move to such countries once again. Sadly, on the one hand, it is the urgency of meeting the basic needs and on the other, it is also motivated by making life better, have always forced many of the Indians to set out for wage work, particularly in Middle East countries. These countries have remained major attractive destinations for our work force primarily because of higher pay and proximity to the country, but today the crave for going en masse has come to a stop. Also, there has been a global slowdown in construction business which normally attracts huge number of labourers to countries like Saudi Arabia and this has fallen badly on the Indian workers. Unfortunately, fleeing an economic situation even without having food goes against all humanitarian norms for sure. At a time when thousands of workers and their families are struggling for wage and food, the steps taken by the External Affairs Ministry will bring relief to the concerned. Another pressing problem faced by the Government is that some of the companies which have employed the workers are simply closing down, therefore, the requisite no objection certificate required for emergency exit visas for these workers particularly have become difficult. Besides some of the companies have asked the Indian labourers to buy a ticket back home and only then, they will return their passports. This saga of workers woes reflect how low oil prices have suddenly put pressure on Government finances and companies that rely on public spending for much of their enlarged business. And finally, the poor workers have become victims which should have never happened.