Saudi hand-chopping case: New Emigration Bill to take action against recruiters in case of complaints

NEW DELHI: With rising incidents of harassment of Indian blue-collar employees particularly in the Gulf region, the government plans to introduce a bill in the winter session of Parliament to safeguard Indian citizens pursuing jobs abroad from being duped by recruiting agencies.

The Emigration Management Bill, which would replace the Emigration Act 1983, would also have provisions for speedier and more stringent actions against the recruitment agencies in case of complaints being received against them, government officials said.

The need for a stronger Emigration Act is considered imperative in the light of incidents like alleged chopping off of hands of a woman from Tamil Nadu by her Saudi employer.

There are around seven million Indians working in the six Gulf countries and most of them The proposed bill would be largely modelled on the laws in some Southeast Asian countries, which are considered to be among the best in the world, officials said. Women from the Philippines and Indonesia are employed in big numbers in the Gulf in the blue collar sector.

The previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government had initiated the Emigration Management Bill back in 2010.

The Narendra Modi government has now revised the draft bill to ensure that the new legislation covers the 174 Emigration Check Not Required, or ECNR, countries where Indian citizen seeking jobs do not require emigration check, officials said.

If passed, the proposed legislation could transform emigration into “a simple, transparent, efficient and humane” process by facilitating legal migration of blue-collar workers. are in the blue collar sector.