Kuwait govt waive off penalty for Indian workers; illegal stay

The government in Kuwait on Tuesday announced that it will not impose any penalty on Indian workers who were forced to illegally extend their stay due to non-payment of salaries. The amnesty has been granted from January 29 to February 22 for thousands of Indian workers.

A social worker Shaheen Sayyed who had taken up the cause said that "this comes as a great relief for the Indian workers".

The penalty for overstaying in Kuwait is two Kuwaiti Dinars which is around Rs 424, per day. The unpaid workers, who had overstayed for more than a year, could not afford to pay the fine.

The amnesty was granted by the Kuwaiti government after the visit of Union Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh's recent visit to the country. VK Singh had taken up the issue of the workers who had not been paid by Kharafi National Company. He also spoke to a minister in Kuwait to waive of penalty for jobless labourers who wanted to return to India.

The amnesty also means that the workers would not require an NOC of their employer and can once again go back to Kuwait to legally to take up their jobs.