UAE-based companies seeking to hire Indian blue-collar workers will now have to get a permit from Indian missions to do so.
All foreign employers looking to recruit Indian workers will need to register through the government’s eMigrate system. The registration application will then be vetted by the Indian Mission, after which the employers can seek a permit to either recruit directly or select from approved recruitment agents online, according to a statement on the Indian Embassy’s website.
In order to bring more transparency to the recruiting process and cut down on worker exploitation, employers will be required to declare terms and conditions of employment of each category of the job when applying.
These terms and conditions will then act as a specimen contract, going on to form part of the actual employment contract at the time of recruitment, the Indian embassy said.
The new rules are applicable for workers who have the Emigration Clearance Required (ECR) stamp on their passports, T.P. Seetharam, Indian Ambassador to the UAE, told the Khaleej Times newspaper. Around 45% of the two million Indians working in the UAE come under this category, he added.
The new system will be implemented in phases, the Indian embassy said. “Foreign employers recruiting more than 150 Indian workers are required to register online with immediate effect in order to raise demand and seek a permit to recruit directly or [through] select recruitment agents,” the statement said.
Employers looking to hire 50-150 Indian workers need to register online before June 30, 2015 and those recruiting 20-50 workers should register before July 31, 2015. Employers seeking to recruit fewer than 20 Indian workers are required to register online before August 31, 2015.