Andhra Pradesh, Telangana top overseas job scam complaints: MEA

According to the data MEA tabled in the Lok Sabha recently, Andhra Pradesh topped the list with 1,495 complaints, while Telangana took the fourth spot with 339.

Hyderabad: The two Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh recorded the highest number of complaints related to fake overseas recruitment in the country over the last three years, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

According to the data MEA tabled in the Lok Sabha recently, Andhra Pradesh topped the list with 1,495 complaints, while Telangana took the fourth spot with 339. Making up the top four were Kerala and Tamil Nadu, with 625 and 357 complaints.

Most of the complaints were against unregistered or illegal agents.

‘Sub-agents scout for vulnerable candidates’

“Jagtial, Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Nirmal, Rajanna Sircilla, and the Old City part in Hyderabad are where most complaints come from, in Telangana, since it witnesses the highest exodus of workers,” Mandha Bheem Reddy, vice-chairman, NRI advisory committee, state government, said to Times of India. Even highly educated people like doctors and engineers get cheated at times, Mandha added.

In AP, people usually from the Konaseema region, Kadapa, and Visakhapatnam travel abroad for work, the newspaper quoted a source from the AP Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRTS) as saying. “Since sub-agents are aware of this, they are very active in these areas and scout for vulnerable candidates to send abroad. Later, these people become victims,” the source added.

The jobs most commonly offered are those of helpers, drivers, construction workers, and cleaners, etc., in countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and European nations. However, on landing, most of them are pushed into other menial jobs or ill-treated by employers.

Jagtial man forced to work as shepherd

Recently, a 22-year-old man from Jagtial was sent to Saudi Arabia by a Mumbai-based agent with the promise of an office assistant’s job. However, he was forced to work as a shepherd in a desert area, said the report, quoting officials with the CM Pravasi Prajavani. With the help of the Telangana High Court, the family managed to rescue him. He is expected home soon.

Meanwhile, a woman from Hyderabad is still stuck in Oman. While her agent had assured her she was being hired for one household, she was allegedly forced to work for multiple houses. Pravasi Prajavani are considering moving court to help her back.

Many refuse to help with the probe after their return, said an APNRTS official, because “many knowingly use illegal means, such as travelling on tourist visas to work abroad, and even pay hefty amounts to agents to facilitate their travel.”

Poor paperwork is also a problem. “People do not have a proper contract letter or even a receipt from the registered recruitment agency. While they go through sub-agents from here, after reaching the destination country, they realise that the role they were promised is different from the work they are made to do,” Swadesh Parkipandla, president, Pravasi Mithra Labour Union, said to Times of India.

The solution, partly, lay in making it mandatory for people taking overseas jobs only through registered agencies.

Meanwhile, despite registering the highest number of complaints, Andhra Pradesh recorded Action Taken Reports (ATRs) in just 35 cases, while Telangana reported ATRs in 99 cases, indicating better follow-up despite receiving far fewer complaints.