THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, June 20 2005
IANS
The Recruiting Agents Association of Kerala on Monday
asked Keralites working in the Gulf to behave themselves
after nearly 15 companies in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi
decided not to have Keralites on their rolls.
"Strikes may be common here, but not in the
Gulf. We should see that we do not overreact and create
problems for all the Keralites," said B. Vivek,
the association's president.
The new situation arose after some Keralites created
'issues' in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
"We are pained because our association contributed
Rs.750,000 to the Indian Embassy in Bahrain to repatriate
75 Keralites who lost their jobs after a Garment company
closed down its operations. Despite the Bahrain government
relaxing rules for them to seek new employment, some
went on a strike," said Vivek.
K.V. Muraleedharan, president of the Kerala Association
of Travel Agents pointed out that there are reports
from the UAE that Keralites have even taken to the
roads in protest.
"This is a dangerous trend because now that
15 companies have come with the decision not to take
people from Kerala, one shouldn't be surprised if
more companies resort to it," said Muraleedharan.
One reason why issues like these surface in the Gulf
is because those paying close to 100,000 rupees for
the visa et al, don't even get the promised job.
"Currently there are around 100 registered and
licensed recruitment agencies in Kerala. But reports
indicate that there are close to a thousand unrecognised
recruitment agencies playing mischief. The government
has to deal with this seriously," said Victor
Fernandes, secretary of the association.
