India minister visits Kuwait, eyes speedy solution to labor issue
KUWAIT: India’s Minister of State for External Affairs Dr (Gen) V K Singh said that Indian government is keen on finding a solution to a long-pending issue of unpaid salaries involving Indian laborers in Kuwait. Addressing the Indian community, the visiting minister said that he had taken up the matter with the Kuwaiti authorities in his talks on Thursday and they had positively responded to his request, assuring him of a speedy solution to the crisis.
India’s new Ambassador to Kuwait K Jeeva Sagar, Charge d’Affaires and Appellate Authority Raj Gopal Singh, First Secretary K K Pahel, Second Secretary (Labor) Sibi U S and other embassy officials were present during the meeting at the embassy.
Earlier, the minister interacted with a group of Indian laborers who gathered at the embassy to request the intervention of the visiting minister in finding a solution to the crisis. The minister also visited a labor camp to get firsthand information about the condition of the workers in distress. According to the workers, their residencies expired a long time ago and their employers had not renewed them, resulting in a large amount of penalties. They also haven’t been receiving salaries for the past several months, making their plight even more miserable.
The minister, while addressing the community members at the embassy, said the embassy and the Indian government will make all necessary arrangements for those who can go back to India and will pay their airfare. The embassy has already issued air tickets to many who were able to leave the country. The minister also called upon the community members to come forward and get in touch with the embassy to help the people in need.