Hamirpur: The Union external affairs ministry Friday released a list of registered recruitment agents for the Northern region for the safe and legal migration of “Emigration Clearance Required” passport holders to the ECR countries (Afghanistan, Bahrain, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen), he/she can emigrate directly or take the services of registered recruitment agents.
A ministry spokesman said Friday the Protector General of Emigrants (PGE), Ministry of External Affairs, is the Registering Authority to issue Registration Certificates to the Recruiting Agents for overseas manpower exporting business, in line with the Emigration Act, 1983.
Taking services of illegal recruitment agents, which are not registered with the PGE, is not advised. Ministry of External Affairs, through its Missions abroad, works for the protection of Indian citizens abroad, especially migrant workers.
For safe and legal migration, the Ministry launched eMigrate portal through which recruitment of ECR passport holders going to ECR countries is regulated. The portal ensures that no one is cheated by illegal agents through exorbitant charges and fake job promises. Emigrate portal works through Registered Recruitment Agents and Registered Foreign Employers. Anyone who takes the services of illegal agents and migrates to ECR countries may face problems such as non-payment of salary, not being provided with promised jobs, physical and mental torture, and sometimes sexual harassment.
Migrating with the help of unregistered agents is a criminal offense as per the Emigration Act 1983. All unregistered agencies are being warned not to involve in such activities i.e. recruitment of ECR passport holders for ECR category countries. Such activities are in violation of the Emigration Act 1983 and amount to human trafficking, which is a punishable criminal offence.
The advantages of migration through Registered Recruitment Agents are:
i. There will be accountability on the part of the recruitment agencies to ensure the safety of the worker.
ii. In case of any grievances by the emigrant, he/she can register the same on the e-Migrate website (www.emigrate.gov.in), and the same will be followed up by the Protector General of Emigrants (PGE).
iii. There will be insurance coverage for the worker under the Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojna (PBBY) scheme.
Most of these agents are located in the states of Punjab and Haryana and Chandigarh.
There are only two such agents in Himachal Pradesh and both are located at Una.
