IranIsrael crisis clouds plans for Indian workers

According to the terms offered by the Israeli agency, the workers are expected to travel at their own expense and will only receive contracts once they land in Tel Aviv. A sample contract available on the PIBA website seen by The Hindu details that insurance, accommodation, and food will be arranged by employers but their costs will be deducted from workers’ salaries.

“Now, with uncertainty looming, we feel we are at a crossroads,” Mr. Kumar added.

On Thursday, an official Israeli government statement announced that more than 6,000 Indian workers would reach Israel during April and May, with the government approving ticketed chartered flights for the workers. The MEA had also been helping facilitate the process, despite an earlier advisory issued by the Indian Embassy in Israel regarding the safety of workers, after an Indian was killed and two injured in a Hezbollah rocket attack on Israel’s northern boundary.

‘Poor planning’

K.C. Singh, a former Ambassador to Iran and the United Arab Emirates, said the Union government’s actions “reflected poorly” on its planning for this eventuality. “The government has known for several months about tensions in the region. If an advisory was in the works, how morally justified was it to send workers there at this time?” he asked, in comments to The Hindu.

About 18,000 Indians live in Israel at present, working or pursuing their studies there. In addition, more than a thousand workers are believed to have travelled there in the past few months on private individual contracts before the governmenttogovernment recruitment process began.

Labour activists who asked not to be named said that the “temporary pause” in sending workers to Israel should be used by the government to ensure more protections for them. At present, neither Israel nor Iran are on the government’s Emigration Clearance Required (ECR) list of countries where workers are mandated to register on the “Emigrate” portal that offers more facilities for those travelling to conflict zones. They also said that New Delhi should press Israeli authorities to provide more clarity on the locations where Indians will work, in particular, keeping them away from unsafe border areas and occupied territories where violence has been on the rise.