India Labourline, a helpline for migrant workers working in other countries, has unearthed an alleged case of job fraud and exploitation of several workers from Kanniyakumari district, during their employment in Armenia.
One influential family from Kanniyakumari (with most of its members living in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia) and some college students from Tamil Nadu, who are pursuing medical education in Armenia, have been exploiting and abusing these workers, including physical assault and criminal intimidation.
The workers were promised jobs in the foreign country in exchange for huge sums of money, but upon their arrival in Yerevan, were forced to live in horrible conditions. Many of them have not been paid for months together.
Speaking to The Hindu, one of the workers, who managed to leave Armenia, recalled his ordeal and revealed that they were assaulted by college students from Tamil Nadu, who were pursuing medical education in Yerevan. “The family cheated us, and upon their command, these students assaulted whoever questioned them.”
Another worker, who also returned from Armenia, said the labourers had been trying to lodge complaints in many police stations in Kanniyakumari district, but the authorities refused to accept them and some even threatened them to stay silent.
India Labourline teams in Kochi and Chennai have been coordinating with the workers to help them get justice. One of the workers, currently in Yerevan, recalled her experiences and said: “We have given them hard-earned money, and we want the authorities to make them return it.” Another worker said every other week, more workers were being recruited by these fraudsters. “They don’t know what awaits them in Armenia,“ she added.
Executive Director of the Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development (which operates for India Labourline in Kerala) Benoy Peter contended that there was a chain of intermediaries involved in the recruitment of migrants. “There could also be a nexus of the recruiters and the administration, both at source areas as well as in countries of employment, which leaves the migrant workers powerless and without much access to justice even if they are cheated,” he said.
The workers would be at the losing end as they suffer substantial losses in terms of recruitment fees, pending wages, fine/penalty for irregular stay at the destination country, and sometimes a ban on reentry for work, he said. “A bad entry in the passport can result in visa denials by other countries as well, limiting work opportunities. The mental trauma a worker and his/her families undergo is also severe,” Mr. Peter added.
The ‘safe, regular, and orderly migration’ that the global compact for migration envisages needs substantial investments, particularly in the context of a country like India, which is the largest recipient of international remittances. Despite multiple attempts, The Hindu could not reach the chairperson of the Tamil Nadu Non-Resident Tamils Welfare Board for a comment.
