Kuwait announces general amnesty, huge relief for overstaying Indians
Sushil.Rao@timesgroup.com
Hyderabad: With the Kuwait government announcing a general amnesty, thousands of Indian workers stuck there because of illegally extended stay will be able to return to India without having to pay any penalty. The amnesty is in place from January 29 to February 22, 2018. “This comes as a great relief to workers,” said social welfare activist Shaheen Sayyed who had taken up the cause of the Indian workers in Kuwait.
Naresh Naidu, a worker who was employed with Kharifi National and overstayed to demand that his salary dues be released by the company, is one among those keen to make use of the amnesty. He hails from West Godavari in Andhra Pradesh and told TOI over telephone from Kuwait that on Tuesday he went to the Indian embassy in Kuwait and gave his details so that he could return to the country. “I found many workers from the Telugu states are eager to return to the country,” he said.
The penalty for overstaying in Kuwait is 2 Kuwaiti dinar — ₹424. Many workers who didn’t receive their salaries had overstayed for several months. They couldn’t even think of making an exit from the country by paying penalty as they had no money.
The amnesty granted by the Kuwaiti government comes in the wake of Union minister of state for external affairs VK Singh’s recent visit to Kuwait. He had taken up the issue of many Indian workers who were not paid by Kharafi National Company. He also spoke to the Kuwaiti government minister to waive off penalty for Indian workers overstaying in Kuwait and wanted to return to India.
Meanwhile, Kharafi National officials have made an offer to release 25% to 33% of the salary dues for the disgruntled workers but the workers have been demanding 100% pending dues from the company.
Sushil.Rao@timesgroup.com
Hyderabad: With the Kuwait government announcing a general amnesty, thousands of Indian workers stuck there because of illegally extended stay will be able to return to India without having to pay any penalty. The amnesty is in place from January 29 to February 22, 2018. “This comes as a great relief to workers,” said social welfare activist Shaheen Sayyed who had taken up the cause of the Indian workers in Kuwait.
Naresh Naidu, a worker who was employed with Kharifi National and overstayed to demand that his salary dues be released by the company, is one among those keen to make use of the amnesty. He hails from West Godavari in Andhra Pradesh and told TOI over telephone from Kuwait that on Tuesday he went to the Indian embassy in Kuwait and gave his details so that he could return to the country. “I found many workers from the Telugu states are eager to return to the country,” he said.
The penalty for overstaying in Kuwait is 2 Kuwaiti dinar — ₹424. Many workers who didn’t receive their salaries had overstayed for several months. They couldn’t even think of making an exit from the country by paying penalty as they had no money.
The amnesty granted by the Kuwaiti government comes in the wake of Union minister of state for external affairs VK Singh’s recent visit to Kuwait. He had taken up the issue of many Indian workers who were not paid by Kharafi National Company. He also spoke to the Kuwaiti government minister to waive off penalty for Indian workers overstaying in Kuwait and wanted to return to India.
Meanwhile, Kharafi National officials have made an offer to release 25% to 33% of the salary dues for the disgruntled workers but the workers have been demanding 100% pending dues from the company.
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