India (see also Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Malaysia)

New restrictions in deploying domestic workers

Starting from 1 September, India will impose tighter regulations to govern domestic workers (including butlers, cooks and drivers) amid serious abuses by employers and by the police forces, especially in Saudi Arabia. Under the new regulations, employers in 18 countries, including Middle Eastern countries (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan) and Southeast Asian countries (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand), will be required to pay US$400 monthly salary and to have a security deposit of US$2,500 in the form of a bank guarantee with the Indian mission. Employers should also provide their domestic workers with mobile phones. In addition, the minimum age will be set at 30 years for women to work abroad as domestic workers. For those required to obtain the emigration check stamp, employers should register their employment contract with the mission. India will also sign bilateral labor welfare pacts with Kuwait, the UAE, Oman and Qatar. Over 15,000 Indian women are working as domestic workers in Saudi Arabia.

Meeting to promote the protection of domestic workers

India has called a meeting of Indian ambassadors in the Gulf (Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Libya, Yemen and Jordan) and Malaysia to discuss the problems faced by women migrant workers, especially domestic workers. Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said the meeting will be the first step toward understanding various aspects of the matter and finding an appropriate solution that would acceptable to all stakeholders. 

Helpline and other measures for migrant workers

Minister of Overseas Affairs Vayalar Ravi announced that the government launched a 24x7 helpline abroad for Indian migrant workers, especially women migrants, as part of its efforts to enhance the protection and welfare of migrant workers. The government also set the minimum age at 30 years for all women migrant workers and set a minimum wage.  Other measures include attesting employment documents for all women migrants with ECR passports, operating shelters for distressed migrants, putting diplomatic pressure on host countries to extend legal protection to migrant workers in the informal sector and signing formal MoUs for bilateral labor cooperation. 

Indians avail of amnesty in the UAE

Close to 45,000 out-passes have been issued to Indians in the UAE, according to Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi. The passes will facilitate the return of irregular migrant workers to India. He said that Indian companies in the UAE were providing assistance to amnesty seekers. Indian firms have also set up drop boxes to receive applications from Indian workers hoping to continue to work in the UAE. There are an estimated 1.4 million expatriate Indians in the UAE, many of them are contract workers. In Dubai, Indians account for more than 60 percent of the city's population of over 1.4 million. 

Related to this, A committee led by Andhra Pradesh Energy Minister Mohd Ali Shabbir would visit the UAE to take steps to bring back overstaying Indian workers there before the deadline (2 September) of the amnesty period.

Indian migrants in the Gulf remain poor

A survey by Kozhikode-based Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust found that Indians, who paid huge placement fees to recruitment agencies to work in countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), were disillusioned by actual realities in the GCC. The survey of 10,100 middle and low-income expatriate Indians in GCC countries found that only two percent of their family members actually saved something from their remittances. In many cases, expatriate Indians suffer from depression caused by loneliness and financial crises. It is reported that the suicide rate among Indian migrants in the UAE has increased, from 70 cases in 2004 to 84 in 2005 and 100 in 2006.

India, recipient of largest remittances

Overseas Indians help in generating foreign exchange and in making India the largest recipient of remittances in the world. India receives more than 10 percent of the US$230 billion global remittance market, according to the World Bank. Further, India accounts for more than 20 percent (US$23 billion) of remittances in developing countries, followed by China, which receives US$21 billion. Suvodeep Das, South Asia marketing director, Western Union Money Transfer, said that India has the world's second largest migrant population of some 25 million across the globe and more than 75 lakh migrants are added to this number each year. The US and Saudi Arabia are the top two countries hosting Indians.

Draft bill for Non-resident Keralites

The Non-resident Keralites (NRK) Welfare Bill will be presented in the Kerala Assembly during its next session beginning on 4 September. Among others, the draft bill will extend benefits of pension and loan facilities for self-employment to Keralites working abroad. The bill envisages loans of up to Rs50,000  for the education of children of low-income NRKs who die abroad, pension for NRKs returning home for good and accident insurance.

No emigration check for visit visas

Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi said that India will soon do away with the system of requiring suspension of emigration clearance to people going abroad on visit visas. Under the Indian Emigration Act of 1983, anyone whose passport is endorsed with the ECR clause has to obtain emigration clearance (for those with employment visa) or suspension of emigration check requirement (for those with visit visa) from the office of the Protector of Emigrants (PoE) under the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs. Starting in January 2007, emigration clearance or suspension of ECR is required only in 18 countries, including Malaysia, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Brunei, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Syria, Lebanon, Thailand and Iraq. At present, only those who have not cleared Class 10 are issued ECR passports in India. 

Stickers required for migrant workers' documents

Those going abroad for the purpose of employment will need apostille stickers for their personal and educational documents (birth and death, affidavits, power of attorney and marriage certificate, degrees, diplomas, matriculation and secondary level certificates) to be valid abroad. The Ministry of External Affair's CPV division at Patiala House, New Delhi, will begin issuing such stickers from 29 August.

Indian doctors heading for Singapore

Fifteen of India's top healthcare professionals left for Singapore on 22 August to work in the city-state. This migration is an outcome of the Indo-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement signed in 2005. A report published by CII said that Singapore aims to serve a million foreign patients a year by 2012, generating US$3 billion in revenue and creating as many as 13,000 jobs. Cardiac surgeon Naresh Trehan said Singapore is potentially a huge market for Indian healthcare professionals and companies.

Website for PIOs

India launched a digital media platform (www.pioTV.com) for persons of Indian origin (PIOs). This new website is designed not only to serve as an interactive platform for its users but also to supply a wide rage of India-related content. PIO TV provides 24x7 live stream of television content of news from India and other global news of importance and relevance to the PIO community. PIO TV chairman and chief executive Munish Gupta said that PIO TV would have presence in the US, Britain, parts of Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia and the South Pacific.

Indians attacked by neo-Nazis in Germany

During a summer festival, a group of some 50 Germans – some shouting neo-Nazi slogans – chased Kulvir Singh and seven other Indians through the streets of the town of Muegeln in eastern Germany on 22 August. The eight took refuge in a pizzeria until around 70 police cleared the mob. Singh was also critical of the treatment he and the other victims received from police after the attack. He said police officers showed little compassion and did not offer them medical aid. Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the attack and regarded it shameful that no one intervened to stop a brutal mob attack. She said the incident had hurt the country's image abroad. In the meantime, India's Foreign Ministry has asked Germany to take action on the incident and prevent future attacks. Some politicians and industry leaders warned the violence could discourage skilled labor to immigrate to Germany.

Smuggling ring smashed in Austria

Austrian police said that they had smashed a syndicate that smuggled some 250 Indians and Pakistanis from Slovakia to Italy via Austria. Police said that 10 people, mostly asylum seekers, had been apprehended and seven others charged. Two Pakistani leaders operating out of Austria were arrested and two other Pakistanis based in Slovakia identified. 

NGOs concerned over trafficking bill

The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Amendment Bill of 2006 has evoked concern among NGOs and sex workers. The bill, introduced in Parliament in May 2006, seeks to amend the Immoral Traffic Act of 1956 in a bid to combat trafficking and sexual exploitation for commercial purposes. The draft bill aims to punish traffickers and provides for strict punishment to offenders. Durbar Mahila Samannwaya Committee and National Aids Control Organization (NACO) adviser S. Jana claimed that penalizing clients would lead to underground sex trade and eventually isolation of individual sex workers. This will make them more vulnerable to violence and exploitation.

Kashmiri refugees call for self-determination

Dozens of Kashmiri refugees staged a protest on 15 August, calling for Kashmiris' right to self-determination. The demonstration was organized by Pasban-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir, an organization of young Kashmiri refugees living in camps on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad. For them, India's Independence Day is a "black day" for Kashmiris.

20,000 migrant workers flee Kashmir

Some 20,000 migrant laborers have fled Kashmir since July, according to Kashmir Governor SK Sinha. Migrants were told to leave after two migrants were accused of raping and killing a teenage Muslim girl. This exodus has continued even after Hizbul Mujahideen withdrew his threat that all migrant worker should leave, otherwise they would face unspecified consequences. Migrant laborers work as low-paid masons, carpenters, painters and barbers. More than 100,000 non-local laborers are in Kashmir.

Sources: IANS, "Most Indians working in the Gulf stay poor: report," Hindustan Times, 16 August 2007; "20,000 flee Kashmir after threats," Yahoo, 16 August 2007; AFP, "20,000 migrant workers flee Kashmir," Daily Times, 17 August 2007; "Refugees protest against India, observe 'black day'," DAWN, 17 August 2007; TNN, "Singapore seeks Indian medicos," The Times of India, 20 August 2007; PTI, "Committee to bring back workers from UAE," The Times of India, 22 August 2007; AFP, "Merkel condemns attack on Indian immigrants," The Daily Star, 23 August 2007; IANS, "5,000 passes to bring Indians home from the UAE," The Times of India, 23 August 2007; PTI, "Govt starts 24x7 helpline for emigrant workers," The Times of India, 23 August 2007; IANS, "No emigration check now for visits abroad," The Peninsula, 24 August 2007; Reuters, "Mob victim frightened to go home," Bahrain Tribune, 24 August 2007; Iqbal Hoti, Soman Baby, "New ray of hope for housemaids," Gulf Daily News, 27 August 2007; Walter Jayawardhana, "Middle East jobs: India imposes new restrictions," Daily News, 27 August 2007; Akhel Mathew, "Bill for overseas residents to be placed before House," Gulf News, 27 August 2007; TNN, "New stickers on papers for studies, jobs abroad," The Times of India, 28 August 2007; "Remittance market opens new avenues," Newindpress.com, 28 August 2007; Bonny Mascarenhas, "Over 700 applicants from Andhra Pradesh state," Bahrain Tribune, 29 August 2007; "NGOs express concern over bill on immoral trafficking," The Hindu, 29 August 2007; "Asylum seekers held in Austria," DAWN, 30 August 2007; "India follows RP's lead in boosting conditions of HSWs abroad," Department of Labor and Employment, 30 August 2007