New protocol to help Indians workers in UAE

New Delhi, April 4 (IANS) Aiming to streamline the registration of 1.7 million Indian contract workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India and the UAE Wednesday signed a protocol to facilitate an electronic validation system.

The new system will ensure transparency of the contracting process by mandating that the prospective worker be duly informed by Indian government-accredited recruitment agencies of the terms of the contract.

The information to be given to the worker would included the scope of remuneration and employment conditions and benefits, said a statement from the ministry of overseas Indian affairs.

The protocol was signed by the UAE ministry of labour and the Indian ministry at Abu Dhabi.

Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said India was implementing a comprehensive e-governance system towards making the process of overseas deployment of Indian workers transparent and accessible to stakeholders.

The new system was activated by an online application by a UAE employer for the granting of work permits that required disclosure of the key terms of the employment offer.

The UAE's ministry of labour processed the application and provided access to the electronic record to government-accredited recruitment agencies in India who were then required to obtain the worker's attested consent, said officials.