Indian government is fixing minimum wages for each Gulf country

The Indian government is fixing minimum wages for each Gulf country, according to the local cost of living. The minimum wage legislation comes into force on March 1, and will apply to Indian workers already in Bahrain when their current contract expires. Indian Ambassador Balkrishna Shetty said It will protect workers from exploitation, inflation and the rising value of the rupee, Employers in Bahrain have already fallen in line with the 100 Dinars minimum wage for Indian maids, implemented last October.
The Indian Government is introducing a new rule from March 1 stipulating that unskilled workers planning to take up jobs in Bahrain be paid a minimum wage of 100 Dinars (265 dollars) a month. Industry watchers said In a move that will have far reaching impact on the life of over two million Indian blue collar workers in the Gulf, the rule may drastically cut the number of Indians taking up unskilled jobs in the Gulf countries which will be forced to look for cheaper labour from Bangladesh and Nepal while ensuring that the Indian labour in the Gulf will not be exploited.

Bahrain’s Gulf Daily News reported on Friday that the unskilled workers including construction labourers will not be allowed to migrate unless they have contracts attested by the Indian embassy confirming the minimum wage. The new law follows a series of protests by workers in Bahrain and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries recently over low pay and poor living conditions. The Indian ambassador to UAE Talmiz Ahmad said in an interview last week that minimum wages was a sensitive issue as the Indian worker believes he is free to negotiate the terms and conditions he is happy with.