Help when it all goes wrong: The IWRC supports Indian nationals in the UAE

Almost 75,000 Indians have sought help from the Indian Workers’ Resource Centre in Dubai since it opened in November 2010.

Lawyer Bindu Chettur, right, gives counsel at the Indian Workers’ Resource Centre, which helps Indian workers in Dubai with a variety of problems. Satish Kumar / The National

Mohammed’s problems began when his food distribution business lost a lucrative contract a year ago.

Forced to lay off 18 members of staff and close his business, the unpaid debts also affected his entire family.

“It collapsed one year back because of the competition in the market,” says the father of one, 50. “Then I had some bank issues.”

“I used to pay the bank loan, I paid 28 instalments, I only had eight instalments remaining. Every month the bank used to take late fees. So if I was supposed to pay Dh9,000 the first time, they forced me to pay Dh12,000 or Dh13,000. I had to pay more every month.”

While the initial loan was taken as investment for his business, it was Mohammed who was responsible for the repayments.

The loan was taken in 2010 for Dh285,000 but when the business collapsed, Mohammed’s debt stood at “around Dh1 million”, he says. This included money he owed to the bank, including interest and late fees and charges, and the money owed to suppliers.

“I paid Dh285,000 to the bank and they say I owe another Dh152,000.

“The bank didn’t give me a chance to pay. “and I couldn’t pay other creditors, I used to buy from the market on a credit basis. There was bounced cheques, I was in jail for eight months. When the cheque is written, that is it.”

Mohammed lived in Oman for 10 years before moving to the UAE in 2000. His family now rely on their local church for financial and food donations.

“For the last one year my visa has expired. My daughter is starting grade 10 and facing exams now, the school is asking for a valid visa. But with the problems I’m facing I cannot renew the visa.”

Mohammed is one of almost 75,000 Indians who have sought help from the Indian Workers’ Resource Centre in Dubai since it opened in November 2010.

The centre, in Jumeirah Lakes Towers, was established on the instruction of the Indian embassy and consulate to offer counselling and legal advice to the two million Indian nationals living in the emirates.

“Today, I am asking the counsellor to ask the bank to have some settlement and withdraw the legal case,” he says. “Then I can renew the visa and start a business so I can pay back the money.

“If I can’t have a business, I can’t pay the debts and no one will get the money.”

Mohammed admits he made mistakes running his business. His major downfall was never keeping a cash reserve.

“I put the profit in the business, I didn’t save anything. When you are running a business you need to keep something on reserve, I never did this. I have learnt my lesson.”

Mohammed’s situation is one of the most common the centre deals with, according to Anish Choudhury, senior manager of operations.

The majority of cases involve clarification of the labour law, marital disputes, and financial problems relating to non-payment of credit cards or bank loans.

In 2014, the centre received 16,000 calls, up almost 1,500 on the previous year. By the end of last month it had already taken 4,796 calls, on course for its busiest year yet.

The make-up of the UAE’s Indian population is unique, Choudhury says, making the centre’s work even more crucial.

“In most other countries, they don’t support the families [back home]. Most of the total population of around two million Indians here, around 70 per cent, don’t have the family status. They are separated from their family because they don’t fulfil the minimum salary criteria, the family support is missing.”

If a caller requires specific legal counsel the IWRC will arrange for them to speak to a lawyer.

Its staff cannot help with issues of blocked visas or flagged passport numbers, these cases are passed to the consulate or embassy.

They will not handle any issues or cases relating to a crime that has been committed, these need to be “reported to the police”

Choudhury says most complaints are from people working for smaller firms, not large firms.

“The issue is where the business comprises of only four or five persons. Very small scale, like tailoring shops, laundries ... sometimes, since they don’t have a structured HR policy, issues do surface.”

Many callers want clarification of UAE labour laws and their own rights, such as end-of-service payments or holiday pay.

Another common issue is malpractice by recruitment companies that promise one thing- a salary, position et cetera — and deliver another.

While there are no plans to build another centre, the toll-free phone line, 800 46342 (800 India) makes its services available throughout the country.

The centre staff each speak at least two local Indian dialects and are trained to handle sensitive calls.

The contact details and caller’s name are taken, as well as their employment details if the issue is a labour one, or details of the spouse if it is a marital issue.

Contact details in India and a person’s education level will also be taken where necessary and where it might affect the help they are offered.

“The [receiver] needs to understand that getting consumed by the grief or the emotion of the caller does not help to erase the issue. He needs to understand that the person is calling to get some help. Sometimes they want us to listen to the story but at the end of the day they want us to have a solution, to have hope and to have some result from the call or subsequent interactions with us.”

While the IWRC is not permitted to involve itself directly in any legal proceedings, its staff and legal counsellors offer advice and act as intermediaries between parties.

Bindu Chettur has worked as a lawyer with the consulate for 13 years and works pro-bono at the IWRC every Tuesday. She was the first lawyer appointed at the centre and predominantly helps with labour and family issues.

“We give them legal remedies. For example if they are coming to us with a labour issue we will definitely look into the issue and say, ‘OK first go and put a petition in the labour court, from there you can transfer it to the Dubai courts’. After that the litigation starts. We can guide them to produce witnesses.”

Certain issues require complex negotiation between parties.

Since opening, the centre has seen an increase in the numbers of family disputes.

Women leaving or divorcing their husbands often require advice about maintenance payments for children, Chettur says, and many are unaware of what they are entitled to.

“If there are children, they have to be maintained properly by the husband, irrespective of the fact the lady is earning. We make them aware of their rights.

“Women earning more than men, that is one of the criteria for these kinds of disputes, and extramarital affairs.”

Other, more difficult problems that make up some of the 16,000 annual calls include cases of absconsion, where a sponsor accuses a staff member of illegally leaving his or her duties.

“There are certain issues that cannot be resolved, like absconding ... they are at the mercy of the sponsor, we can’t do anything. There is no room for us in that case. So we will advise them and call the sponsor many times to get it resolved without going to the court.”

In 2011, Chettur defended 17 Indians convicted of murdering a Pakistani during a bootlegging brawl in a labour camp.

Her work with the IWRC, she says, is easier and most cases are solved without legal action being taken.

While not strictly in her professional remit she also offers advice on financial and labour issues, which, like marital disputes, are on the rise.

“Nowadays the problems are more the labour issues ... not getting the benefits on time, illegal termination, and employers putting false cases. It’s a technique usually taken by employers to not give benefits to the employees. To escape without paying them they will put false complaint against the employees. These kinds of cases are rising.”

Her advice for people considering moving to the UAE from India, is simple: do some homework.

“For what purpose are they coming? If they are coming for a job, have everything in a clear black and white about the agent, the visa, about the labour contract, what sort of contract it? Because whenever something is signed they are bound by it. Before that, be specifically clear what they are going to do, and have an awareness of the law here. The law is very stringent here.

“They should have basic knowledge because ignorance of the law is not an excuse. After coming over here if they are in a trap, they need to have at least a little bit of knowledge of the consequences they may face in the future.”