Five Indians Seek Repatriation from Kuwait Claiming Harassment by Sponsor

Five Indian immigrants working in Kuwait are seeking repatriation, complaining that they are being harassed by the sponsor.

Out of the five Indian nationals, four workers reached Kuwait by bypassing the laid-down procedures for immigration of employees, while one holds an expired work visa which was valid till 2017 as per the work contract, the Times of India reported, citing the Indian embassy. The workers hail from Goa, according to the report.

After getting in touch with the NRI Commission in Goa, the embassy tried to contact the local sponsor, under whose authority the immigrants were working, for returning their passports. The sponsor was, however, uncooperative, the embassy informed the commission, the publication said.

The workers lodged with the Indian embassy an official complaint of harassment against the sponsor, and said that they want to be repatriated, the report cited the second secretary (labour) at the Indian embassy in Kuwait as confirming.

The repatriation process has been initiated, and will be completed once all the formalities are done, the embassy’s labor wing told the publication.

The workers also sought a place to stay but their request could not be met by the embassy due to unavailability of space in their shelter home. They were asked to stay together in an accommodation.

Relatives of three workers from Goa got in touch with the NRI Commission, appealing for quick intervention to help the workers return to the country, the publication added.

The mother of a young Goan, who has been working in Kuwait since last March, said that her son, along with other workers, were harassed by the employer and not permitted to leave the country. She also expressed concerns about her son’s safety and requested his quick repatriation by submitting all the official documents. The other workers have been working in Kuwait since 2014 and 2015, the report added.

Earlier this year, as many as 700 Indian workers, who had to leave Kuwait without salary, were promised compensation by the Kuwaiti government. The workers were left unpaid and stranded for several months in Kuwait before they could leave the country. Each of the 710 employees of Kharafi National Company, who is registered with the Public Authority of Manpower (PAM), was offered KD 250 as relief amount, the Indian embassy said in July this year.