Media Center

QUESTION NO.†5053 EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN ABROAD

April 01, 2022

LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.5053
TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.04.2022

EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN ABROAD

†5053. SHRI ASHOK KUMAR RAWAT:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

whether Indian women going abroad for various jobs are being exploited;

if so, the details of such complaints received during the last three years particularly from the Gulf countries, Year-wise and Country-wise;

whether the Government proposes to ban employment of women below thirty years of age as domestic servants in the Gulf countries; and

if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
[SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN]

(a) & (b) Indian Missions/Posts in the Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries including Gulf Countries have reported that complaints have been received from Indian women workers, regarding non-payment of salaries and denial of legitimate labour rights and other issues such as non-issuance/renewal of residence permits, Overtime Allowance, weekly holidays, working for longer hours, refusal to grant exit/recruitment – entry permits for visit to India, refusal to allow the worker on final exit visa after completion of their contracts and not providing medical and insurance facilities etc. Incidents of confinement or abandoning of housemaids by their sponsors have also been reported. A statement showing the number of complaints received by the Indian Missions in the 18 Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries, including the gulf countries, since year 2019 till date, year-wise and country-wise, is given at Annexure-A.PDF file that opens in new window. To know how to open PDF file refer Help section located at bottom of the site.

(c) & (d) The Government has already put in place the following measures to safeguard and regulate emigration of Indian women workers, including maids holding ECR passports, for overseas employment :

All women emigrants (Except Nurses) emigrating on ECR passports to ECR countries irrespective of nature/category of employment must be above the age of 30 years.

The emigration clearance of all female workers having ECR passports, for overseas employment in 18 ECR countries, including Gulf countries, has been made mandatory through 10 State-run recruiting agencies only. These are: NORKA Roots and Overseas Development and Employment Promotion Consultants (ODEPC) of Kerala, Telangana Overseas Manpower Company Limited (TOMCOM) of Telangana, Overseas Manpower Company Andhra Pradesh Limited (OMCAP) of Andhra Pradesh, Overseas Manpower Corporation Ltd. (OMCL) of Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh Financial Corporation (UPFC) of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan Skill & Livlihoods Development Corporation (RSLDC) of Rajasthan, Karnataka State Unorganized Workers Society Security Board (KUWSSB) and Karnataka Vocational Training & Skill Development Corporation (KVTSDC) of Karnataka and M/s PanIIT Alumni Reach for Jharkhand Foundation of Jharkhand.

In respect of direct recruitment of all ECR passport holder women workers in respect of all ECR countries, the Foreign Employer is required to deposit a Bank Guarantee equivalent to US $2500 for recruiting each woman worker, in the respective Indian Mission.

(iv) Registration of foreign employers in the e Migrate system has been made mandatory with effect from June 2015.

***

Write a Comment Write a Comment
Comments

Post A Comment

  • Name *
    E-mail *
  • Write Your Comment *
  • Verification Code * Verification Code