Parliament Question: Safeguarding the interests of Indian Labourers Abroad

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.81 ANSWERED ON 24/07/2026 SAFEGUARDING THE INTERESTS OF INDIAN LABOURERS ABROAD *81. SHRI BRIJENDRA SINGH OLA Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:- (a) whether many Indian labourers/workers sent for employment abroad are engaged in jobs other than for which they were originally sent, violating their labour rights; (b) if so, whether there is a specific legal provision which prohibits the engagement of any person in any other job than the specific work for which they were sent abroad without their prior and written consent and ensures strict punitive action against the employer and recruitment agent violating the said norm and if so, the details thereof; (c) whether the Government proposes to ensure mandatory registration of every Indian labourer/worker serving abroad with the 1Indian Embassy/High Commission located in the respective country so as to ensure the credibility of the employers and to provide immediate assistance to them in emergency situations; and (d) if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (DR. SUBRAHMANYAM JAISHANKAR) (a) to (d) A statement is laid on the table of the House. ***** 2Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (d) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *81 for reply on 24.07.2026 regarding “Safeguarding the interests of Indian Labourers Abroad” (a to d) Some instances have come to light where Indian labourers/workers have complained of being engaged in jobs other than that for which they were originally sent. During the years 2021- 2026, 131 such complaints of jobs provided other than originally offered were registered on eMigrate portal. 157 grievances were settled, including those which were registered in earlier years. During this period, Registration Certificates of 09 Recruiting Agents (RAs) were suspended as per the provisions of the Emigration Act, 1983, for violation of its provisions. Also, during the same period, based on inputs received from Indian Missions/Posts, 58 Foreign Employers (FEs) were placed under Prior Approval Category, thereby, restricting them from raising demand for Indian workers without prior clearance. Details are enclosed at Annexure - A. The Government of India accords utmost priority to the safety, security, protection and wellbeing of Indian workers abroad. Emigration of Indian workers holding Emigration Check Required (ECR) passports for overseas employment to ECR countries are 3regulated as per the provisions of the Emigration Act, 1983 & rules framed thereunder. The Act mandates FEs to recruit Indian workers either through the registered RAs in India or on the basis of permits issued by the Protector General of Emigrants (PGE). The Act also mandates that Emigration Clearance be obtained from the Protector of Emigrants (POE) by emigrant workers holding ECR passports before proceeding for employment in ECR countries whether recruited through RAs or directly by the FEs. POE clearance to the emigrant workers is currently facilitated through the eMigrate portal (https://emigrate.gov.in) on which the FEs are required to register before raising demand for Indian workers. During the process of Emigration Clearance, credentials of the FEs are verified from the documents submitted on eMigrate. An employment contract must be signed between the FE, the emigrant worker and the RA, as an essential requirement for grant of Emigration Clearance. In case of direct hiring, the employment contract is signed between the FE and the emigrant workers. Special provision has been made for the protection and welfare of Indian women migrants. Minimum age of 30 years is mandatory for all women workers holding ECR passports and emigrating to ECR countries irrespective of the nature/category of employment, except 4for nurses. Recruitment can only be done by State-run RAs or directly by the FE. An FE hiring women migrants is required to deposit a financial guarantee of US$ 2,500/- with the concerned Indian Mission/Post abroad. The contract, between the worker and the employer must be duly attested by Indian Mission. To obtain Emigration Clearance, the emigrant workers are also required to obtain mandatory insurance policy under the Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana (PBBY). Rule 10 of the Emigration Rules, 1983 provides that the RA shall ensure that the employer observes the terms and conditions of the employment contract and that the RA will also facilitate amicable settlement of the disputes between the employer and the emigrant worker. Cases of job substitution in violation of the employment contract are taken up by PGE with both the RAs and FEs whenever such a complaint is received from the aggrieved worker. On receipt of such complaints, the RA is asked to take necessary action for resolution of the grievances with the FE and the concerned Indian Mission/Post is also intimated to take up with the FE and concerned local authorities for resolution of the grievances. Actions that can be taken against RAs include suspension/cancellation of their Registration Certificate as per Section 14 of the Emigration Act, 51983, and invoking of financial guarantees submitted to the Government of India as per Rule 23 of the Emigration Rules, 1983. FEs which are found to be in breach of the employment contracts are placed under Prior Approval Category. In the case of complaints pertaining to FEs engaged in direct hiring of female workers, concerned Missions/Posts can also invoke the financial guarantee deposited with them. To address grievances of Indian workers employed abroad, there are established channels to enable them to reach out to the Indian Missions/Posts for assistance. They can contact the Missions/Posts through walk-in, email, multilingual 24x7 emergency numbers, WhatsApp number, grievance redressal portal like MADAD/CPGRAMS/eMigrate, and social media. Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendras have been set up in key locations including New Delhi, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuala Lumpur, London and Riyadh to provide guidance and counselling to Indian workers. Indian Missions/Posts regularly organize Open Houses and Consular Camps in different cities to extend consular services and address any grievances. There are dedicated Labour Wings in the Indian Missions/Posts in most of the Gulf countries which pro-actively take up grievances of emigrant workers with the concerned FE, inspect the work place of 6the aggrieved worker and also take up, where required, with the local Labour Department and other host country authorities. To safeguard the interests of Indian emigrant workers, GOI insurance scheme viz. Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana (PBBY) is available to all Indian emigrant workers. PBBY is mandatory for all ECR category workers going to ECR countries. The scheme provides insurance cover of INR 10 Lakhs in case of accidental death or permanent disability due to accident at workplace and other benefits at a nominal insurance premium of INR 275/- for two years or INR 375/- for three years validity. 87,10,423 policies have been issued from 2006 to March 2026. With the aim to promote safe and legal migration while ensuring welfare and safety and preventing exploitation of Indians abroad, including Indian workers, Government has signed MoUs/Agreements such as Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreements (MMPAs), Labour Mobility and Labour Welfare Agreements with the partner countries. The Labour and Manpower Cooperation MOUs/Agreements that provide the overarching framework for cooperation on labour and manpower related issues have been signed with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates) and Jordan. Further, to safeguard 7the specific interests of domestic sector workers in GCC Countries, agreements on Labour Cooperation for Domestic Sector Workers (DSWs) have been signed with Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait. A list of these MoUs/Agreements is enclosed at Annexure - B. Indian nationals including workers are encouraged to register themselves with the jurisdictional Indian Mission/Post. Indian Mission/Post have developed suitable mechanism for voluntary registration of Indian nationals residing/working in their jurisdiction taking into consideration local laws and regulations on data privacy which vary from country to country. 8Annexure – A Sl. List of Foreign Employers in Prior Approval Category (2021 - 2026) No. ARN FE ID FE NAME DATE OF ADDITION COUNTRY 1 6549996 5652633 Noor Al Warqa Laundry 18-01-2021 14:09 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Stallion Facility Management 2 6550520 5652748 Services 21-01-2021 16:51 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Husam Sharaf Building 3 6550834 5250946 Contracting LLC 24-01-2021 17:04 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 4 6552251 5653229 Al Noor General Maint Cont 03-02-2021 12:20 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 5 6558304 5655109 Bu Haitham Gents Saloon 28-02-2021 16:17 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Arrow Orders Delivery 6 6560043 5655673 Services 07-03-2021 14:29 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Al Jilani Buildings 7 6560158 5655722 Maintenance LLC 08-03-2021 13:27 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES HARESH BHAGTANI 8 6568021 5378117 BUILDING CONTRACTING LLC 30-03-2021 19:29 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES M/s Sharq Al Falah Sanitary 9 6568022 5658708 Cont LLC 30-03-2021 19:33 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES GLOBAL CARE MEDICAL 10 6576214 5567658 SERVICES 21-04-2021 13:17 KUWAIT 11 6578211 5662508 M/s Layalina Restaurant , 04-05-2021 16:23 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 12 6578212 5662509 M/s Sabir Miah Paints Cont 04-05-2021 16:25 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Alessa Medical & Scientific 13 6579171 5652562 Equipment Co. WLL 18-05-2021 13:19 KUWAITEAST PEARL TECHNICAL 14 6579236 5259444 SERVICES EST 19-05-2021 16:25 KUWAIT 15 6579237 5369168 VIM CATERING COMPANY 19-05-2021 16:29 KUWAIT AL-SINDIYAN AL-FUDIH GEN. 16 6579238 5289930 TRAD. & CONT. CO. 19-05-2021 16:30 KUWAIT AL ALMIYAH FOR MANUF 17 6579239 5300575 TEMPERED GLASS COMPANY 19-05-2021 16:33 KUWAIT Abraj Al Buhairah Bldg. Cont 18 6582276 5663746 LLC 27-06-2021 14:10 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES AL HAMIDAH GENERAL 19 MAINT AND CLEANING 6583603 5239073 SERVICES 07-07-2021 10:37 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 20 6584402 5664412 Waha Al Rayan Building Maint 13-07-2021 11:47 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 21 6586859 5665068 Wadi Alzumorod Events 01-08-2021 18:20 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES AHMAD AL TERKAIT SONS GENERAL TRADING AND 22 CONTRACTING COMPANY 6587866 5480858 WLL 08-08-2021 16:47 KUWAIT White Pearl Management 23 6590374 5666111 Consultancies 25-08-2021 18:52 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES NAAMAT BUILDING 24 6590376 5222847 MAINTENANCE 25-08-2021 18:56 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES GHANTOOT ELECTRICAL 25 6591494 5220385 CONTRACTING LLC 31-08-2021 16:31 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Ghantoot Transport & General 26 6591496 5220969 Contracting LLC 31-08-2021 16:35 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 27 6591498 5453700 GHANTOOT NATIONAL 31-08-2021 16:36 UNITED ARAB EMIRATESELECTROMECHANICAL CONTRACTING CO.LLC GHANTOOT BUILDEX 28 6591499 5353550 GENERAL CONTRACTING 31-08-2021 16:37 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Al Faseel Paints Plaster & 29 6593164 5667042 Tiles Cont 06-09-2021 19:39 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 30 6600688 5366549 Valentine Maritime Gulf LLC 29-09-2021 11:04 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 31 6603084 5214918 ARABI ENERTECH KSC 05-10-2021 11:09 KUWAIT Aseel Universal Garments 32 6610841 5333055 Manufacturing Co. 21-10-2021 13:27 JORDAN a M/S GULF ENGINEERING 33 6642191 5218493 COMPANY 07-12-2021 17:22 KUWAIT GEMMAYZEH FOR MANAGING 34 6694131 5487419 RESTAURANTS 23-02-2022 13:33 KUWAIT 35 6840417 5758579 M/s Ras Al Khaima Ceramics 23-09-2022 12:59 SUDAN Al Jalawi Factory 36 6842239 5465629 Management Co. 26-09-2022 11:12 KUWAIT 37 6842241 5569720 Q8 PLUS ALUMINIUM 26-09-2022 11:14 KUWAIT BLUE GARDEN GENERAL 38 6842244 5533737 TRADING CO WLL 26-09-2022 11:15 KUWAIT AL GHAREEB NATIONAL GEN. 39 6842247 5322562 TRAD. & CONT. CO. 26-09-2022 11:17 KUWAIT QWEEN PLUS ELECTRICAL 40 AND ELECTRONIC REPAIR 6842248 5614788 COMPANY 26-09-2022 11:19 KUWAIT 41 7015506 5766463 PRIME CARE 17-02-2023 16:05 QATAR 42 7029682 5738551 WORLD RESOURCES CO LTD 01-03-2023 15:01 SAUDI ARABIATURUQ AL TAMAYUZ 43 COMPANY FOR 7049286 5718011 CONTRACTING 16-03-2023 18:31 SAUDI ARABIA QIMAM NAJD CO LTD IS A 44 7057217 5778856 ONE PERSON COMPANY 23-03-2023 17:22 SAUDI ARABIA 45 7057232 5722501 Qimam najd company limited 23-03-2023 17:29 SAUDI ARABIA UNITED WEIGHT 46 7118198 5706858 CONTRACTING COMPANY 23-05-2023 18:55 SAUDI ARABIA NAS RECRUITMENT 47 7134835 5680840 COMPANY BRANCH 02-06-2023 17:40 SAUDI ARABIA Alahlam Al momazia CO,for 48 7134839 5697223 operation and maintenance 02-06-2023 17:42 SAUDI ARABIA 49 7134941 5768181 Modern Structure Co Ltd 02-06-2023 18:19 SAUDI ARABIA MODERN CONSTRUCTION 50 7134948 5708674 COMPANY 02-06-2023 18:22 SAUDI ARABIA Saudi Aircon Branch of 51 Abdullatif Al Arfaj and 7135013 5241819 Brothers Holding Co. 02-06-2023 18:41 SAUDI ARABIA Keba operation and 52 7190142 5720864 maintenance company 23-07-2023 13:21 SAUDI ARABIA OUSUR AL QIMA 53 7264582 5716097 LILMUQAWALAT COMPANY 21-09-2023 13:25 SAUDI ARABIA 54 7318365 5603438 FOUTH DIMENSION 02-11-2023 14:49 IRAQ LAMAC PLUS GENERAL 55 7327806 5391054 TRADING AND CONT CO 10-11-2023 10:52 KUWAIT Z TEK CO FOR DELIVERY OF 56 7367022 5811944 CONSUMER GOODS 14-12-2023 12:16 KUWAITASEEL UNIVERSAL 57 GARMENTS 7395615 5672629 MANUFACTURING CO., 09-01-2024 18:32 JORDAN 3B General Trading and 58 8776259 5226161 Contracting Co. W.L.L 03-07-2025 14:31 KUWAITAnnexure - B List of MoUs/Agreements signed with countries Gulf Region Sl. Name of Name of Date of Signing and Validity No. Country MOU/Agreement 1 Qatar Agreement on 11-04-1985 Regulation of the (LWA) 4 Years, Automatic Employment of Indian Renewal Manpower (Additional Protocol) 20-11-2007 2 Kuwait 1. MOU on Labour, 10-04-2007 Employment and (LWA) 4 years, Automatic Manpower Development Renewal 2. MoU on cooperation 10-06-2021 on the Recruitment of 5 Years, Automatic Domestic Workers Renewal 3 Oman MOU in the field of 08-11-2008 Manpower (LWA) 5 Years, Automatic Renewal 4 Bahrain MOU on Labour and 17-6-2009 Manpower Development (LWA) 4 Years, Automatic Renewal 5 Saudi Arabia 1.Agreement on Labour 02-01-2014 14(LWA) Cooperation for 5 Years, Automatic Domestic Service Renewal Workers Recruitment 2. Agreement on Labour 03-04-2016 Cooperation for General 5 years, Automatic Category Workers’ Renewal Recruitment 6 UAE MOU on cooperation in 11-02-2018 the field of Manpower (LWA) 4 Years, Automatic Renewal 7 Jordan MoU on Cooperation in 01.03.2018 the Field of Manpower (LWA) 5 Years, Automatic Renewal Europe 8 Denmark 1. MOU on Labour 29.09.2009 Mobility 5 years, Automatic Renewal Partnership(LMA) 2. Agreement on 22.02.2024 Mobility and Migration 7 Years Partnership Automatic Renewal (MMPA) 9 France Migration and Mobility 10.03.2018, Partnership Agreement (MMPA) 7 Years, Automatic Renewal 10 United MoU on Migration and 04.05.2021 Kingdom Mobility Partnership 7 Years, Automatic Renewal 15(MMPA) 11 Portugal Agreement on 21.09.2021 Recruitment of Indian (LMA) 5 Years, To be renewed with Workers the consent of both the parties 12 Germany Agreement on 05.12.2022 Comprehensive (MMPA) 7 Years, Automatic Renewal Migration and Mobility Partnership 13 Austria Agreement on a 13.05.2023 Comprehensive (MMPA) For Indefinite period of time Migration and Mobility Partnership 14 Italy Agreement on 02.11.2023 Migration and Mobility (MMPA) 5 Years, Automatic renewal 15 Russia 1. Agreement on 04.12.2025 Temporary Labour (LMA) 5 years, Automatic Renewal Activity of Citizens of one State in the Territory of the other State 2. Agreement on 04.12.2025 Cooperation in 5 years, Automatic Renewal Combating Irregular Migration 16 European 1.Draft Memorandum of 27/01/2026 Union (EU) Understanding 7 years, Automatic Renewal Between the EU and (MMPA) India on a 16Comprehensive Framework of Cooperation on Mobility 17 Finland MoU on Migration and 05/03/2026 Mobility Partnership (MMPA) 4 years 18 The MoU on Migration and 13/05/2026 Netherlands Mobility Indefinitely (MMPA) 19 Slovakia MoU on Cooperation in 15/06/2026 the Field of Labour (MMPA) Indefinitely Migration Oceania/South East Asia 20 Japan MoC on a Basic 18-01-2021 Framework for (LMA) 10 Years, Automatic Partnership for Renewal Proper Operation of the System Pertaining to "Specified Skilled Worker" 21 Australia Arrangement on 23.05.2023 Migration and (MMPA) 4 Year, Automatic renewal Mobility Partnership 22 Taiwan MoU on Facilitation 16.02.2024 of Employment of (LMA) 5 years Indian Workers 23 Malaysia MoU on Recruitment, 20.08.2024 17(LMA) Employment and Repatriation of 5 Years Workers Indian Ocean Region 24 Mauritius MoU on Employment 10.05.2023 of Workers from India (LMA) 10 Years, Automatic renewal West Asia North Africa (WANA) 25 Israel 1. Agreement on 03.11.2023 Facilitation of the (LMA) 3 Years. Automatic Temporary Renewal. Employment of Indian workers in Specific Labor Market Sectors in the State of Israel 2. Implementation 03.11.2023 Protocol -A Valid for the period for (Construction which the Agreement is in Sector ) force. 3. Implementation 03.11.2023 Protocol- B (Home- Valid for the period for Based Caregiver which the Agreement is in Sector) force. 184. Implementation 26.02.2026 Protocol- C Valid for the period for (Commerce and which the Agreement is in Services Sector) force. 5. Implementation 26.02.2026 Protocol- D Valid for the period for (Restaurant Sector) which the Agreement is in force. 6. Implementation 26.02.2026 Protocol- C Valid for the period for (Manufacturing which the Agreement is in Sector) force. ***** 19