India: Government must value migrant workers for more than the billions they send home | Amnesty International
The lack of effective regulation of visa brokers and rogue recruiting
agents makes Indian migrant workers vulnerable to serious human rights
abuses, said Amnesty International India today in a new report focusing
on migrants from the Indian state of Kerala working in Saudi Arabia.
The report, Exploited Dreams: Dispatches from Indian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia,
highlights cases of migrant workers from Kerala who were deceived about
their jobs, wages and working conditions by Indian visa brokers and
rogue recruiting agents. Many workers went on to face a range of abuses
in Saudi Arabia, which at their worst included forced labour.
“Migrant
workers send billions of dollars in remittances every year to India and
sustain thousands of families. Yet Indian authorities continue to let
them down when they are abused. It is time that migrant workers’ rights
get the protection they deserve,” said G. Ananthapadmanabhan, Chief
Executive, Amnesty International India.
“Recent events in Iraq
have been a harsh reminder of the risks that Indian migrant workers can
face in the countries they work in,” said Ananthapadmanabhan.
Migrant workers from Kerala have reported poor working conditions in Saudi Arabia.
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