(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Be it the 'sweat shops' or battle grounds of West Asia or the 'body shops' in America, thousands of gullible Indian workers continue to be exploited in the worst manners, while the government sleeps on a law that could put fear in the human brokers.
On a recent visit to the Gulf, the minister of overseas Indians affairs, Sushma Swaraj, once again mouthed the rhetoric about the welfare of Indian nationals residing abroad, particularly in the Gulf countries, being one of the "top most priorities" of her government. Will she please tell us when her party, with a clear majority in the parliament, pass the Emigration Management Bill that has been languishing in Lok Sabha paper piles for the last six years?
In fact, the minister seems more concerned about the draft immigration bill of the United States and was even reported to have spoken to Secretary Kerry about its adverse impact on India's IT industry. The earlier, government too was unable to get the crucial legislation enacted, but at least her predecessor, Vayalar Ravi, appeared to be aware of its worth.
It's not going to be an easy job to rein in the travel agents and recruitment brokers who are making millions of rupees riding on the dreams and aspirations of youngsters obsessed with migrating to what they see from a distance as "greener pastures." They're willing to sell their family's last valuable and mortgage home and hearth to pay the agents.
Punjab tried to rein them in with a path-breaking legislation against human smuggling. However, the powerful lobby of travel agents has been so far able to let the law have effect. They form a strong political lobby and have kept the matter hanging trough litigation as well.
There has been an alarming rise in the cases of human smuggling from Punjab. The disastrous consequences showed in the plight of the illegal migrants, particularly those in conflict areas such as Afghanistan and now Iraq.
Punjab becomes the first state in the country to enact a law of its against human trafficking. For the first time, the act defines "human smuggling" and "travel agent". It provides for a licensing regime for agents, allows grant of compensation to aggrieved person from the travel agent, gives power of search, seizure and arrest, authorizes Judicial Courts for trials and identifies punishment for offences under the act.
Travel agents in Punjab have refused to register as per the provisions of the Act and have dragged the legislation into court.
The Emigration Management Bill might also have to go through such birth pangs. But at least the country's rulers should first show the resolve to allow it to be born. The Bill provides for the setting up for an Emigration Management Authority (EMA) which will take over the functioning of the Protectors of Emigrants, an office that has often been accused of laxity as well as corruption.
The EMA will replace the Protector General of Emigrants (PGE) which is the existing authority responsible for protecting the interest of migrant workers. PGE is also the registering authority to issue Registration Certificates to the recruiting agents for overseas manpower exporting business.
The new legislation will give the ministry powers to prosecute such agents directly without requiring it to go through the state governments, thus speeding up the process of bringing them to justice.
There will also be a penal provision to prosecute the manpower agents who are involved in malpractices. So far, provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) have been applied for this purpose, but now this will be governed by a separate law specifically for it. Responsibility will now be fixed with recruiting agents to ensure that whatever terms and conditions are agreed upon before a worker leaves for abroad should be abided by when he takes up employment in the host country.
The hapless Indian workers are waiting for the transition of the current Indian leadership from photo opportunities to meaningful action and hoping that this happens sooner than later.
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