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NHRC opens help desks for foreign workers

Graphic: Male worker

The National Human Rights Committee has opened a community office to assist Indian, Egyptian, Nepalese and Filipino expatriate workers.


The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) has officially inaugurated a community office to assist workers from a range of expatriate communities, The Peninsula reported.

The community office, located at the NHRC headquarters, has established separate help desks for the Indian, Egyptian, Nepalese and Filipino communities.

The help desks for the Indian and Filipino communities have been functioning for the past seven months.

Staffed by representatives from those communities, the help desks function as a facilitator between the NHRC and expatriates seeking help.

"The NHRC works on a daily basis to receive, register and follow-up on all concerns that are brought to us," Saad Sultan Al Abdulla, head of the NHRC's International Cooperation Division, told The Peninsula.

"We know that more can be done to obtain sources of information, reach out to those who have difficulty accessing the services available to them, whether due to working hours, transportation costs, language difficulties, legal fees or fear of raising a complaint," he said.

"We hope to address such issues through this initiative."

The community office at the NHRC was inaugurated by Judge Fawaz Al Gaatal, NHRC Member, together with Sanjiv Arora, Indian ambassador, Leopoldo B De Jesus, Labour Attaché II, Philippine Overseas Labour Office, Embassy of the Philippines and community representatives.

The Peninsula reported that the help desk for the Indian community has received complaints from 162 people since it began operating. Complaints have included non-payment of salaries, denial of exit permits and sponsorship changes by employers.

Date: 13 May 2015

Source: The Peninsula


Image credits

  1. Male worker - Richard Messenger, Flickr Creative Commons