The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also instructed the Pak Embassy to keep pursuing the authorities concerned to ensure food supply and medical facilities to the workers, settle the salaries and outstanding dues as soon as possible, facilitate the workers to travel to their homeland if they opted, besides, facilitating the transfer of work permit of those workers who chose to leave the company. The officials of both the companies assured us that the companies are trying their best to resolve the problem.
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Saudi Arabia has offered to fly home Indians who have been stranded in the country without pay.
“The agreement, expected to be reached within 10 days, would centre on the government or businessmen from the ruling family taking ownership” of the company, the newspaper said.
Labour Minister Mufarrej al-Haqbani issued orders to allow the Indian workers “to immediately transfer their kafala (sponsorship) and renew their residencies”, the Okaz daily reported on Wednesday.
Regarding the dues of workers, the minister said: “Every worker will file their claim with the labour office, and the claims will be settled even after they come back”.
India is rushing aid to thousands of its citizens in Saudi Arabia who are running short of food after losing their jobs.
The Philippine government has also been providing financial assistance to its nationals stuck in the kingdom without pay. “The Government of India will not have to spend a penny on that”, she said.
“It has hit not only Saudi Arabia, but also the other Gulf countries”, he added. Necessary action is in hand by the embassy of India to prepare suitable lists for filing claims as well as for people to go back.
Swaraj also said that all Indians who live in five worker complexes or camps in and around the city of Jeddah were provided with food rations by the Indian government for the next week.
In Manila, Migrante coordinator Gilbert Saludo – who returned from Saudi Arabia last month after two years working there – said as many as 20,000 Filipinos could be affected.
As some opposition members in Lok Sabha raised questions, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan disallowed them, saying, “She [Swaraj] has done really good work”.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had yesterday said that all affected Indians will be brought back.
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Kerala Minister for Local Self Government K.T. Jaleel is flying to Saudi Arabia to coordinate efforts with Kerala cultural groups amid reports of hundreds of Keralites in the Gulf kingdom having been rendered jobless and facing a food crisis.
