India on Sunday conveyed its concerns to Saudi Arabia over possible job loss to a large number of Indians in the Kingdom due to its new labour law.
A delegation led by Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi met Saudi Arabian labour Minister Adel Fakieh to convey India’s concern over the Nitaqat programme.
Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed and Advisor to Prime Minister TKA Nair were also part of the delegation. The ‘Nitaqat’ law makes it mandatory for local companies to hire one Saudi national for every 10 migrant workers.
There has been widespread perception that the new policy will lead to denial of job opportunities for a large number of Indians working there. Over two million Indians are currently working in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Government was implementing the Nitaqat law to cut unemployment in the country.
Earlier India had said that new Saudi labour policy will affect only illegal immigrants and not genuine workers employed in the Kingdom.