How Twitter Could Save 10,000 Stranded Indians in Saudi Arabia

You know it's a crisis, when the external affairs minister of the world's largest democracy appeals to Indians living in a foreigncountry to come to the rescue of their compatriots. According to the minister, more than 10,000 Indian workers have been rendered jobless or haven't been paid by their Saudi employers for more than seven months. They face an acute shortage of food, as they struggle to make ends meet in a foreign country. That's because Saudi companies have been shutting down factories due to delayed receipts from the Saudi government, whose oil revenues have plunged over the last couple of years.

An employee at Lebanese-owned construction company Saudi Oger, who preferred not to be named, said in an email interview to BloombergQuint, “Employees at Saudi Oger are struggling to survive, while they awaitpayment of their salaries. Corruption and poor management are also major problems.” The bulk of workers who have been stranded were employed by Saudi Ogre.

Many Indian employees took to Twitter to implore the ministry of external affairs to intervene and come to their rescue.

Damage Control

Swaraj said on Saturday that the IndianEmbassy in Riyadh has been instructed to provide free ration to all affected Indians in Saudi Arabia and that she was personally monitoring the situation on an hourly basis.

Over the last few days, the Consulate General of India in Jeddah has distributed ration for 10 days to all five relief camps set up in the Gulf country.

CGI Jeddah with help from Indian Community in Jeddah distributed 1700 pack of (khuboos-chapati),each pack having 1/2 pic.twitter.com/BUln6MhL0q

August 1, 2016

Another feather in already full cap of CGI n IndianComunity Jedah. Food stuf deliverd 2 40 employes of BinLaden co 2 pic.twitter.com/Nqqi8e9bbb

July 31, 2016

CGI team working at Highway camp 2 collect basic data of Indians in distress for their final settlements. pic.twitter.com/kftisZi5Vy

July 31, 2016

On Monday, while addressing the Rajya Sabha, Swaraj said that theIndian government has been in touch with foreign and labour offices of Saudi Arabia in order to resolve the issue at the earliest. According to Saudi law, the Indian embassy cannot issue emergency exit visas to the workers until employers provide them with ‘no objection certificates', Swaraj said. In this case though, since most employers of these stranded workers have shut shop and left the country, India has requested the Saudi government to permit the Indian embassy to issue exit visas, she added.

The external affairs ministry is also working with the Saudi labour office to look for a way to draft contracts with the concerned companies, to ensure that Indian workers are paid their dues as and when the reach a settlement with the Saudi government.

Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh reached Jeddah on Tuesday night, to assess the difficulties faced by the Indian workers and to figure out the technicalities of bringing back those wanting to return to India. The other newly appointed junior minister, MJ Akbar, has taken up the issue with officials in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, where too Indian workers have been affected.

The Consulate General of India in Jeddah, NoorRahman Sheikh also met senior officials from the Saudi labour office and foreign office to discuss the situation.

Mr. Abdullah Bin Md. Al Olayan DG, Min of Labor n Social Dev again met Consul General at CGI Jedah. Great coperation pic.twitter.com/4apTB6vDj6

August 2, 2016

Consul General met Mr.Adel Abdulrahman Baksh, Dy DG n Dir of Protocol, MOFA to discuss Indian workers crisis. pic.twitter.com/KJLXp2O6qj

August 2, 2016

Origins of The Crisis

Over the last couple of years, plummeting global oil prices have hit the Saudi economy hard and have resulted in a record budget deficit of about $98 billion last year. That in turn, has led to delayed payments by the Saudi government to companies such as Saudi Oger and Saudi BinLadin, prompting the companies to shut down several projects.

Saudi Oger employs more than 50,000 people from around theworld. Employees from France, Philippines, India, Pakistan and other South Asian nations have been affected by the recent spate of layoffs.

Saudi Oger isn't the only company that's been hit. Its rival and Saudi's biggest construction company, the Saudi BinLadin Group has also laid off several workers in the last few months. Local media reports suggest that employees of both companies have been protesting and some of these protests have turned violent.

Saudi Oger and Saudi BinLadin group did not respond to two separate email queries sent by BloombergQuint.

In April this year, Saudi Arabia's deputy crown prince,Mohammad Bin Salman told Bloomberg journalists in a five-hour long interview, that the problem with Saudi Oger is a unique one.

We have paid them many installments, but they have debt in and out of Saudi. So as soon as money is transferred to their bank accounts, the bank withdraws it. Saudi Oger can't cover their own labour costs. That's not our problem, that's Saudi Oger's. The contract between us and Saudi Oger, we will honour it. But if the bank withdraws our instalments and Saudi Oger can't pay a thing to its own contractors and workers, that's their own problem. They can take them to court.

Mohammad Bin Salman, Deputy Crown Prince, Saudi Arabia

The Way Forward

On August 4, Swaraj informed the Upper House during the Zero Hour that the King of Saudi Arabia has instructed his officials to solve this matter within two days. She also said that that not only will the Gulf country grant these Indian workers an exit visa, but will also send them back to India in Saudi flights, and that the Indian government does not need to worry about the cost of the their travel.

Boarded the flight & ready to leave for #Jeddah. As @SushmaSwaraj Ji & I have said before #NoIndianLeftBehind pic.twitter.com/cPKB83vDf2

August 2, 2016

Last year, VK Singh spearheaded the evacuation operation inwar-torn Yemen. Operation “Raahat”, as it was aptly called was responsible for the evacuation of over 4,741 Indians and 1,947 foreign nationals. While boarding his flight to Jeddah on Tuesday night, Singh tweeted, “Boarded the flight & ready to leave for #Jeddah. As @SushmaSwaraj Ji & I have said before, #NoIndianLeftBehind.”

Indians in the Gulf and around the world can only hope that he keeps his word or in this case, stands by his tweet.

Also Read: QuickTake Q&A: Why Layoffs Are Dire for Foreign Laborers in Gulf

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