Sushma Swaraj: No Indian in Saudi will starve

A large number of Indian workers in Saudi Arabia who have lost their jobs and cannot even buy food due to severe financial hardship will be brought back home, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said, asserting that not one of them will go hungry. In a statement in Parliament amid concerns by members in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Ms Swaraj said the MoS for external affairs Gen. V.K. Singh (Retd) is leaving for Saudi Arabia to oversee the evacuation process. She said the Indian embassy in the Gulf nation was running five camps to feed the affected people.

“Not one worker of ours will go hungry. This is my assurance to the country through Parliament... We will bring all of them back to India,” Ms Swaraj said. Issues like logistics and modalities of a possible repatriation of the workers who want to return to India will be worked out during Mr Singh’s visit.

The government has sought Saudi assistance in arranging exit visas for all Indian workers who wish to be repatriated. The MEA is also in touch with the Saudi authorities to ensure that the claims of all Indian workers with unpaid dues are lodged and processed in accordance with law.

Government sources said approximately 10,000 Indian workers have been affected by the economic slowdown in the Gulf and the situation was “fluid and dynamic”. They said the situation varied from company to company. Sources said 3,172 Indian workers in Riyadh have not been paid their salary dues for several months but are getting regular rations.

Separately, 2,450 Indian workers belonging to the Saudi Oger Company are housed in five camps in Jeddah, Mecca and Taif. Since July 25, the company had stopped providing meals to the workers besides defaulting on their salaries, sources said.

The Indian consulate in Jeddah, with the assistance of the diaspora, has provided rations to 2,450 the workers which should be sufficient for the next 8–10 days, they said.

The government, Ms Swaraj said, was in touch with the foreign and labour offices in Saudi Arabia to ensure early evacuation of affected Indians.

Ms Swaraj noted that the law there does not permit an emergency exit visa without no objection certificate from the employers who, she said, have shut their factories and left the country, leaving these employees stranded.

The government has requested the Saudi authorities to give them exit visas without NoC 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.

Ms. Swaraj said she received the last report at 2.45 am on Monday and informed the Lok Sabha that ration for 10 days had been distributed to people in all the five camps. “I am personally monitoring the situation,” she said. Sources said Gen. (retd.) V.K. Singh would be proceeding imminently to Saudi Arabia to visit the worker camps and make an on the spot assessment of the ground situation. Ms. Swaraj has been monitoring the situation on an hourly basis.

Box 1. Those Indian workers who have lost their jobs and facing a food crisis in Saudi Arabia will be brought back to India, Government tells Parliament. 2. Government sources say the situation in Saudi Arabia is “fluid and dynamic”, with 10,000 Indian workers being affected by the crisis triggered by economic slowdown there. 3. 3,172 Indian workers in Riyadh have not been paid their salary dues for several months but are getting regular rations. Separately, 2,450 Indian workers belonging to the Saudi Oger Company are housed in five camps in Jeddah, Mecca and Taif. 4. The Government has sought Saudi assistance in arranging exit visas for those Indian workers who wish to be repatriated. 5. The Government is also in touch with the Saudis to ensure that the claims of all the Indian workers with unpaid dues are lodged and processed in accordance with law.