In the Gulf region, the Indian expatriate workforce is said to be the largest. According to a report, over five million Indian nationals are believed to be employed in the oil-exporting countries of the Gulf, and it's by far the single largest group in a migrant worker population of over 20 million.
A majority of them are involved in sectors like construction, the oil industry, transport and services, and account for nearly half of the roughly 50 million population of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Recent data available in the public space shows India as receiving the highest amount of remittances from abroad (approximately 70 billion dollars). Of this amount, the largest deposits come from the Gulf region, and most notably from countries like Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia (approximately 32.7 billion dollars).
Given that the FIFA World Cup is just a little over seven years away, Qatar is of particular interest to India and its workforce. In anticipation of FIFA 2022, a New Doha International Airport (NDIA) featuring modern amenities was unveiled in 2012. The airport that has been built is said to be environmentally-friendly and of sustainable design. According to the Chairman of the Qatar Tourism Authority, Ahmed Al-Nuaimi, 80 to 100,000 rooms are being developed for the 2022 World Cup.
Qatar is ranked fourth in terms of remittances to India from the Gulf region (2614 million dollars). The UAE (15,685 million dollars), Saudi Arabia (8382 million dollars) and Kuwait (2947 million dollars) are ranked above it, as per a World Bank-commissioned estimate for 2012.
In the recent past, trade union outfits like ITUC, Transparency International and the others have targetted Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE and Qatar for violating human rights and the working rights of labourers. The Middle East's pledge to introduce sytemic changes has so far failed to impress ITUC and other trade bodies. In the case of Qatar for instance, trade bodies like ITUC have warned that at least 4000 labourers of different nationalities, including Indians, could die during the preparations for the FIFA 2022 World Cup, but this as yet unproven statistic, may not be enough to reverse the decision to grant Qatar the right to host the signature sporting event. The country, however, may experience some reputational damage, though it is only trying to compete.
The Brussels-based ITUC's intentions suggest that it is clean and in the interest of the labourers, but at the same time must be seen to be making efforts to see that its criticism is not seen as a clash of egos.
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Recent face-to-face interactions with Indian and Nepali labourers, who have returned from Middle East on leave, reflect a different story, much different to the image portrayed persistently by trade union bodies.
Twenty-six-year-old Kuldeep, a resident of Tilak Nagar in Delhi, used to earn Rs. 7500 a month as an electrician. After moving to Middle East in May 2013, he now has a bank balance of Rs.5 to 6 lakhs.
Currently employed with Rankin Constructions, Kuldeep is part of a growing Indian work force in Qatar that is involved in the development of new infrastructure related to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He is currently on leave and will return to Qatar on December 21. He hopes to work in that country for another eight years.
Kuldeep said, "Every day I work for eight hours. There is no undue pressure from the project manager and problems are redressed professionally. The construction company also provides loans in an emergency, and there is no restriction on movement."
He also said that all labourers are provided with air conditioned rooms, and food and lodging is taken care of by the company.
On being asked about why some fellow labourers are speaking about poor working conditions in Qatar, he said: "I believe that trade bodies like ITUC would have approached fellow workers and coaxed them into speaking negative about the living conditions in return for higher pay."
Twenty-one-year-old Ghaziabad resident Mohammed Raqib works as a salesman at Abu Dhabi's Lulu Hypermarket. Raqib says, "No labour unions have approached us and I have never faced any labour problems at work. I have also interacted with Indians, Nepalese, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis labourers and heard nothing from them in this regard."
Talking about living conditions, he says the company he works for has provided him with a shared AC room accommodation and food, all free of cost.
Thirty-five-year-old Bhawani Prasad Bhandari, who hails from Nepal's Kailali District, worked in Kuwait City, Kuwait. He says he went to Kuwait to earn his livelihood, and returned to Nepal in July 2013 to finish building his new house from his savings. He says that he will return to Kuwait next month.
In the six months since assuming office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to have set a scorching and blistering pace insofar as his government's foreign policy initiatives are concerned. He has visited eight to nine countries since July this year, attending bilateral, regional and multi-lateral meetings to sell the dream of a new, young and emerging India. His government's outreach has been extended to the Middle East.
As far as India-Middle East ties are concerned, the relationship is marked by commercial interactions and enhancement of people-to-people contacts.
Indians are highly regarded for their sincerity, hard work ethics, and technical expertise and for being law-abiding, and they are employed in almost every government or private sector entity in the Middle East.