49 stranded Indian workers repatriated from UAE
Dubai: Forty-nine stranded Indian workers, who were employed in two Dubai-based carpentry firms, have been repatriated after authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) helped them secure their passports and security deposits, the media reported on Tuesday.
Confirming the development on Twitter, the Indian Consulate in Dubai said that the “labourers returned in batches to India”, Gulf News reported.
Neeraj Agrawal, consul for Press, Information and Culture, said the workers had reached out for help in July.
“They had not been paid for about six months and they reached out to the consulate for help to return home,” he said, adding that the mission had also provided them with food supplies.
However, the workers’ passports were still under the custody of the companies.
Although the owner was not reachable, the Consulate said the PROs of the firms were contacted and the workers’ passports and security deposits were taken with the support of Dubai Police and Al Adheed Centre of Dubai Courts, which provides services related to labour disputes.
The workers, majority of whom are from Uttar Pradesh, flew home in three batches.
“The final group left to Lucknow on October 10,” Gulf News quoted Agarwal as saying.
Since the workers’ visas were valid, they did not face any overstay fines.
