Dubai: Responding to an appeal by Indian Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao, 400 expatriate Indians have registered as volunteers to help Indian workers in that country affected by a new labour policy.
The ambassador again appealed to illegal Indian workers to rectify their residency status or leave the country following the implementation of the Nitaqat or Saudisation policy in that Gulf nation, Arab News reported Tuesday.
The new policy makes it mandatory for all Saudi companies to reserve 10 percent of jobs for Saudi nationals.
"Saudi authorities have clearly told us that after the grace period that ends on July 3, the ministry of interior will start search operations to arrest all those who violate Saudi residency rules and laws," the report quoted Rao as saying.
He said that the services of the volunteers will be "absolutely free" and also released a document `Advisory to Indian Volunteers`.
There are around two million expatriate Indians in Saudi Arabia, many of them blue collar workers.
IANS
