Number of distressed Indian maids on rise in UAE, mission issues warning

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Almost 90 per cent of the women are victims of unregistered recruitment agents bringing them on a visit visa.- Supplied photo
Almost 90 per cent of the women are victims of unregistered recruitment agents bringing them on a visit visa.- Supplied photo

Dubai - According to the mission, a total of 134 housemaids were repatriated to India in 2018.

by

Dhanusha Gokulan

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Published: Mon 1 Apr 2019, 7:00 PM

Last updated: Tue 2 Apr 2019, 1:18 PM

Given the rise in cases of distressed Indian housemaids in the UAE, the diplomatic mission in Dubai has warned women jobseekers not to come to the UAE on a visit visa.
Senior officials at the Consulate-General of India (CGI) in Dubai revealed to Khaleej Times that there has been a rise in the number of distressed housemaid cases since 2016. According to the mission, a total of 134 housemaids were repatriated to India in 2018. In 2017, there were 121 women who were repatriated and 84 were sent back in 2016.
Almost 90 per cent of the women are victims of unregistered recruitment agents bringing them on a visit visa. After a trial period, in case the women do not find employment, they either flee to the CGI or are sent to the mission by the agents. Then, the women are placed in a shelter mandated by the consulate up until their repatriation.
The consulate has warned maids not to be lured into false promises made by recruitment agents in India or the UAE. The mission also stressed that housemaids are advised not to hand over their passports or mobile phones to agents or prospective employees. In some cases, the women were promised high paying jobs on social media platforms such as Facebook by the recruiters.
Mission's assistance
Consul-General of India to the UAE Vipul said: "We have repatriated many Indian housemaids in 2018 and 2017, and all of them were here on a tourist visa, looking for a job. They did not find the right employment environment and approached the consulate, which helped them by providing them with the necessary papers for return."
Vipul said in such cases, the mission gets all necessary assistance from the local authorities. "However, one of the practices is that employers and agents withhold their passports, which is wrong as per the UAE law and the consulate is required to intervene to get it back. This is one of the main issues that delays the process of repatriation and visa cancellation."
A police complaint is needed to issue a 'lost passport' certificate. "However, with persuasion from the consulate and the police, in many cases the passports are returned to the housemaids."
Lack of awareness
An official with the labour department at the consulate said: "Though 90 per cent of the women come from illiterate backgrounds, approximately 10 per cent of the housemaids are highly educated. The biggest issue is the lack of awareness back home in India. They get lured into this trap by lucrative agents who promise them high salaries."
The mission stressed that as per the law, all Indian domestic workers must be 30 years of age or older and must be registered on the e-Migrate system from the Ministry of External Affairs to get emigration clearance from India. However, some of the distressed women are younger than 25 years.
Additionally, employers must furnish a Dh9,200 refundable security deposit with the consulate. This is in addition to the Dh2,000 deposit required by the UAE government. "This amount is used to safeguard housemaids in case of distress or abandonment," said an official with the consulate.
We fall for lucrative salary offers
Khaleej Times spoke to as many as eight maids who were subject to cheating and callous treatment in the hands of their employers, and are currently living in the shelter provided by the consulate.
Twenty-nine-year-old Rita Ajith Punjabi, a housemaid from Mumbai, has been in the shelter since March 25. She was offered a $400 salary by an Ethiopian man on social media and reached the UAE on February 5. "I got here without any money, even for food or basic sustenance. I was taken from the airport to a shelter in Ajman, where I waited for five days."
She said: "I was not told that I needed to know Arabic. I was taken to two different homes and worked for over 20 days but was not paid. I did not clear the trial period and finally, a family agreed to take me to Oman from Dubai. They paid the agents money, and I was given my passport to take a flight to Oman." A panicked Rita fled to the consulate at 9:30pm, after which she was placed in the shelter.
Another housemaid, Hina Chamansab Narang (23) from Goa, has been working in a house in Abu Dhabi for one year and 10 months. She has not been paid for nearly six months. "I did not get my salary and they would make me do a lot of work. My mobile and passport were taken away from me and I was beaten up by the employer," said Narang. Finally, she fled the home on March 25 and has been in the consulate shelter ever since.
Medical needs neglected
Sisters from Kottayam, Kerala, Shantamma KR and Santhi KR, said their agent promised an equivalent of Rs25,000 to 30,000. "My sister and I worked in separate houses. However, we developed extreme body pains and nothing was being done to ease the pain. When we spoke to the agent, he dropped us here in the consulate," said Shantamma.
Basriya Mohammed Azan (43), a maid from Bangalore, said: "I was overworked for over a year in a house in Abu Dhabi and six months ago, they stopped paying me money. The employers would hit me and I was really troubled by the work stress and the treatment. I had to work all hours of the day." She added: "Finally when I could not tolerate it anymore, I fled the house to save my life. Now, I just want to go back home and work there now."
Two maids from Andhra Pradesh, Aisha Sheikh (45) and Anjali (24), said that the sheer workload made it challenging for the women to keep on to the jobs. "I haven't spoken to my family since I reached here. My phone was taken away from me," said Anjali. All the housemaids complained that they were 'allowed' to speak on the phone once a week on Fridays for five minutes.
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com
 


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