87% complaints of 'exploitation' received from Indian workers from Gulf countries

As thousands of laid-off Indian workers in Saudi Arabia were said to be without food, 87 percent of complaints received from Indian workers at Indian missions across nine countries were from six Gulf countries By Chaitanya Mallapur As thousands of laid-off Indian workers in Saudi Arabia were said to be without food, 87 percent of complaints received from Indian workers at Indian missions across nine countries were from six Gulf countries, with nearly half of those from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, according to government data. On 30 July, 2016, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj acknowledged the hunger facing laid-off Indian workers in Saudi Arabia. — Sushma Swaraj July 30, 2016 Food stff being delievred at Sisten/ Macrona pic.twitter.com/rAJhXsJZ8Z — India in Jeddah July 30, 2016 The complaints received from Indian workers include “non-payment/delayed payment or underpayment of salaries, long working hours, inadequate living conditions, physical harassment, non-renewal of visa and labour card on time, refusal to pay for medical treatment, denial of leave and air-ticket to home town on completion of contract period, forcible custody of passport and visa and refusal of leave or exit/re-entry permits”, the ministry said in its reply to Parliament. The six Gulf Cooperation Council countries — Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain — account for half of all Indians jailed abroad and 87 percent of mistreatment complaints received from Indian workers.