11 Indian workers stranded in Oman after employers withheld four months’ salary, denied overtime pay, and confiscated their passports.
The workers have also been evicted from official accommodation, leaving them without shelter or resources.
Families and activists have urged the Ministry of External Affairs to intervene, highlighting recurring cases of migrant exploitation in Gulf nations
11 Indian Workers Stranded In Oman After Salaries Withheld, Passports Seized
The workers are due four months’ salary, additional pay for their extra hours and at present have been thrown out of their official accommodation.
Summary
Eleven migrant workers from India have appealed for urgent government intervention after being stranded in Oman under exploitative working conditions. The workers allege that their employer has withheld four months’ worth of salaries, refused to pay them for overtime hours, and confiscated their passports when they resisted continuing round-the-clock labour without payment.
The men, who had been employed in Oman with the promise of stable work and accommodation, said they have now been evicted from their company housing. With no money, documents, or shelter, they remain vulnerable in a foreign country, depending on help from acquaintances and local community networks.
“We have been working tirelessly, but the company has stopped paying us for the last four months. When we refused to continue, they seized our passports and forced us out of our quarters,” one of the stranded workers said in a video message sent to their families in India.
The families of the workers, based in different parts of India, have reached out to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), urging it to ensure their safe return. Migrant rights activists have also demanded strict action against recruitment agents and middlemen who often lure workers abroad with false promises of decent wages and working conditions.
This incident comes weeks after eight migrant workers from Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh were brought back to India under similar circumstances, after being stranded in Oman without salaries and support.
The case has once again highlighted the precarious conditions faced by Indian migrant labourers in Gulf nations, where legal protections are limited and exploitative labour practices persist despite repeated diplomatic assurances.
The MEA has yet to issue an official statement on the plight of these 11 workers, but sources indicated that the Indian Embassy in Muscat has been alerted and is in touch with local authorities.
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