Dubai billionaire offers to hire 3000 laid-off Indian workers in Saudi

The Indian government had requested the Saudi authorities to give the unemployed Indian workers exit visas without NoC (No-Objection Certificate) from employers and also urged it to clear the dues of workers who have not been paid for months, whenever they settle the accounts with the companies concerned.

As over 7,000 jobless Indians remain stuck in Saudi Arabia, the government announced in Parliament on Thursday that the Saudi king had intervened in the matter and promised to resolve the issue in two days.

“We have started disbursing cash to workers at three camps – Siteen, Aljazeera and Taif – which have 300, 300 and 200 workers, respectively”, the ambassador said over the phone from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

A source in the diplomatic corps based in Saudi Arabia told The Hindu over phone that many labour camps have been receiving Saudi relief material over the past one day. “Government of India will not have to spend a penny on that”, she said.

Summer temperatures can climb above 50 degrees Celsius in Saudi Arabia, worsening the plight of the workers.

On Tuesday, giving a breakup of the figures, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said 4,072 workers belonging to construction company Saudi Oger in Riyadh were being provided shelter in 10 camps: nine in Riyadh and one in Damman.

He also argued that only a fraction of Indians working in the Kingdom had been affected.

“The companies do not refuse the claims of their employees but they have not been able to pay their dues for several months”, the Foreign Office said. I also thank the Prime Minister.

The Saudi government also agreed to allow transfer of Indian employees, who have lost their jobs, to any other company within Saudi Arabia.

India’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs VK Singh, visiting Riyadh on Wednesday to meet Saudi Labour Minister Mufrej Al Haqbani, said the Saudi government had provided assurances that it would resolve the crisis and ensure workers’ financial claims were pursued, even if the workers returned home. He said the Indian Embassy is compiling a list of those who want to leave and will assist in coordinating the effort.

Some of its many foreign workers moved over to Saudi Oger, but did not fare much better there.

“The problem is confined to a very small number”, he said. Over the weekend, India’s consulate in Jiddah said its staff helped deliver more than 15,000 kilograms (34,000 pounds) of food to workers in need of assistance in camps throughout Saudi Arabia. Majority are blue collared workers.