A total of 49 workers from Tirunelveli district returned to the city on Wednesday after a harrowing experience in Malaysia, where they were taken on tourist visas to work on power lines and transmission towers.
Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar, who received them on behalf of the State government, said that they had gone to work for an energy company but were not treated well.
“The workers said they were not even given food or water. They were kept captive in Bentong, from where they escaped and reached another place where the police interrogated them and placed them in a camp. The State government took steps and rescued them,” he explained.
The workers had gone there in July-August 2018. In a video that they posted on social media in November 2018, the workers said they were being ill-treated and were in a forest far away from human habitation and had no money since they were paid only one month’s salary. They also said that they were being threatened by their owner and his men. Following this, the government took steps through the External Affairs Ministry to ensure their release, Mr. Jayakumar added. He said that workers wanting to work outside the country should do so through the Overseas Manpower Corporation.
‘Reintegration needed’
National Domestic Workers Movement’s Migrant Workers Forum’s M. Valarmathi said that there was a need for a reintegration programme for such workers.
“They have lost everything, including hope for a better life. Most of are depressed and need psychological help too. For now, there is no law to protect them. But the new Immigration Act would offer them protection,” Ms. Valarmathi said.