“They (Saudi Arabia) have also agreed to help those eligible for employment and are willing to work with some other companies”, the Union minister said in the Lok Sabha.
Advertisement
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had said on Monday that all affected Indians will be brought back.
Minister of State for External Affairs General Vijay Kumar Singh issued a statement after meeting Labor Minister Mufrej al-Haqbani Wednesday, saying the problem is that one company has not provided “humanitarian facilities” in line with Saudi laws.
“What happened is one company made a great and unacceptable mistake”, Al-Haqbani said during a briefing with reporters.
Besides, the Saudi government also assured that the unpaid salaries of the Indian workers will be given before they leave.
It said the camps in Riyadh and Jeddah regions were visited by the Community Welfare Attaches. “Had fruitful discussions with Saudi Ambassador to India Dr Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati on all bilateral issues”.
Indian missions received 11,195 complaints about exploitation in Saudi Arabia, according to 2016 government data cited by Indian news site First Post.
Meanwhile, activists and officials said Tuesday that thousands of jobless Indians, Filipinos and Pakistanis are stranded and destitute in Saudi Arabia following a sharp drop in the price of crude.
On the Nepali woman’s rape case, they said, the “fig leaf of Vienna Convention” was used to “let the Saudi diplomat escape” the country even after an FIR was lodged. Manila is reportedly offering one-off grants to workers who are either still in the country or have been repatriated to the Philippines without receiving their pay or end-of-service benefits.
“In addition, there are 2,153 Indian workers belonging to Saudi Oger in six camps in Jeddah all of whom have been provided food by the Indian consulate”, Swarup said.
While protests are rare in Saudi Arabia, this situation has caused tensions to boil over several times, with dozens of foreign workers gathering in front of Saudi Oger’s offices in Jeddah in June and setting fire to several company vehicles.
They are provided with necessary assistance with the support of the Indian community in the kingdom, estimated at 3mn.
Most of those workers also have limited rights, while the employer enjoys full control over hiring, salaries, vacations and contracts. “It will get much worse because so much of the income of Saudi Arabia comes from oil… so their budget for infrastructure and other projects will not be met and more people will be affected”, Saludo told AFP.
Advertisement
Saudi Arabia has offered to fly home Indians who have been stranded in the country without pay. They were provided a proforma on which the requisite information is to be submitted to the embassy.
