The Government of India is planning to introduce a new Emigration Management Bill, which would replace the Emigration Act 1983. This Bill is likely to have provisions for speedier and more stringent actions against the recruitment agencies in case of complaints being received against them. Economic Times reports that this move has been initiated to safeguard Indian citizens seeking jobs abroad from being duped by recruiting agencies. This has been necessitated due to the rising incidents of harassment of Indian employees, particularly in the Gulf region. The latest incident of chopping off of hand of a woman from Tamil Nadu in Saudi Arabia by her Saudi employer has accelerated this new Bill, which is likely to be introduced in the winter session of Parliament.
The new bill is likely to be similar to the laws in some Southeast Asian countries, given that a large number of women from the Philippines and Indonesia are employed in the Gulf.
It is noteworthy that there are around 70 lakh Indians working in the Gulf countries. It is reported that the present Central Government has revised the Emigration Management Bill that was prepared by the previous Government in the year 2010. It is learnt that the law will cover the 174 Emigration Check Not Required, or ECNR, countries where Indian citizen seeking jobs do not require emigration check. The new Bill is aimed to make emigration a simple, transparent, efficient and humane process by facilitating legal migration of blue-collar workers.
