Kerala readies package for Saudi returnees

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The southern Indian state of Kerala, which sends a major chunk of Indian workforce in the Gulf region, is ready to rehabilitate emigrants returning from Saudi Arabia as new labor rules come into force.
The four-month amnesty period granted to the illegal expatriates to regularize their job and residence statuses or leave the country ended Sunday.
So far, thousands of expatriates from the state have utilized the facility and some of more than 10,000 people who came back have returned to take up new jobs in the Gulf. The state expects more workers to return in a couple of days.
“We have formed three regional committees to help the returnees and identify those who require free tickets,” said KC Joseph, the state’s nonresident Keralite affairs (Norka) minister, who advised the expatriates not to take a “careless attitude” and get into more trouble.
The committees were set up in Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh with the assistance of the federal government, which is also approached seeking funds for the rehabilitation package.
“Those who have already initiated the process should approach these committees if they fail to manage the tickets on themselves. They would also help them to get exit certificates from the Indian Embassy there. We expect only a few people to come back now,” he said.
Some see blessings in disguise in tightening of the labor law in Saudi Arabia, the second largest employer of Keralites in the Gulf after the UAE, as it would help legalizing jobs and increasing remittances.
The minister asked all overstaying people to return immediately and warned that those who remain in the kingdom even after the deadline without proper documents would face serious consequences like arrest, fine of SR100,000, imprisonment for two years, deportation and a lifetime ban.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said unskilled workers in the state were earning more than their counterparts in some areas of the Gulf’s job market and they could easily find a job back home. For others, the government is extending financial and technical support to set up their own businesses.
“An unskilled worker gets at least Rs 600 ($10) for a day’s labor in Kerala which is comparable to the Gulf status,” said the chief minister who doesn’t see a massive exodus anytime soon. “We want to utilize the international exposure of others in the small and medium industrial sector.”
Meanwhile, the Kerala Pravasi League, a pro-government forum of the returnees, said it had formed 100 self-help groups across the state and sought help from the government to set up suitable enterprises.
“We are looking at small-scale manufacturing units, hospitality, services and high-tech farms for which the government is offering financial and technical assistance, to set up under these cooperatives,” said Peer Mohammed, president of its district unit.