Uncertainty lies ahead for Indian expats in Gulf countries
Indian workers in Gulf
While coronavirus continues to batter the global economy, the fate of Indians working in Gulf countries dangles by an extremely thin thread.
The world economy is bracing itself for a recession worse than the Great Depression during which unemployment and poverty will be at its peak.
Also see:Winners and losers from oil's historic plunge
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the oil prices continue to drop.
It plunged by 21 per cent on Tuesday.There was a historic downfall in the prices of crude oil last week as well.
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Oil producing countries such as the Gulf are bleeding ever since the coronavirus outbreak.
This crisis is a twin shockfor West Asia as they are already struggling due to the shutdown of the global economy and the plummeting prices of oil.
To top it all, there is no demand, oil prices have hit rock bottom and there is a cash squeeze. Therefore,thousands of tankers are all filled up with nowhere to go.
All this happened previously in 2015, when oil prices had slumped due to which Saudi Arabia and the UAEhad taken some drastic steps.
These include slashingtheir budgets and cutting down state spending.
However, Indian expats who drive these economies are the ones who are going to bearthemajor brunt of job losses and budget cuts as these countries willprovide protection to their own citizens rather than foreigners.
Thus, Indians have no means to cushion the blow.
Out of the 30 million foreigners working in the Gulf, eight million of them are Indians.
They constitute over 30 per cent of the expatriate workforce in this region.
Around 50 per cent of them are unskilled. While 30 per cent of them are semi-skilled.
The region is one of the largest sources of foreign remittances for India. More than 78 billion dollars was sent from the Gulf region to India in 2018.
However, the India government seems to be anticipating this crisis.
According to reports, the government has already begun preparations to bring back stranded citizens. In case the lockdown is not extended, the flights canbegin after May 3.
But their future will remain uncertain without a job or wages which account forfinancial security.