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The Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Visit to the UAE
10 May, 2007
The Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Mr. Vayalar Ravi who is on an official visit to the UAE had a meeting with Dr. Al Kaabi, Minister of Labour of the UAE in Dubai today.
Both Ministers discussed various measures for the protection and welfare of Indian Workers in the UAE. The Ministers discussed modalities for effective implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on Labour and Manpower signed between the two countries.
Mr. Vayalar Ravi emphasized the need to facilitate and expedite the return of illegal Indian workers, preventition of the indiscriminate arrests of Indian workers and the urgent need to improve the living conditions of Indian workers.
Among the measures for the welfare of workers discussed by the two ministers were proposals for payment of salary through banks, a compulsory health insurance scheme for workers, better housing facilities and issue of smart cards to prevent malpractices like substitution of work contracts etc.
The meeting between the Ministers was preceded by the first Joint Committee Meeting between the Indian and the UAE delegations. The Joint Committee established under the MoU also took the following decisions:
- To enhance cooperation in employment of overseas Indian workers and training in three major sectors namely, construction, hospitality, and tourism and health care.
- Constitution of a task force for the optimal use of the visa regime in the UAE, developing a simple and transparent mechanism for attestation of work permits/work contracts and collaboration in the use of information technology.
The Joint Committee also decided to establish a grievance redressal mechanism to address problems faced by Indian workers under which a monthly meeting would be held between the officers of the Indian Embassy, Abu Dhabi and the Consul General, Dubai with the Under Secretary of the Ministry of Labour.
The Ministers agreed that the next Joint Committee Meeting would be held in New Delhi in Octorber 2007.
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