NEW DELHI, Feb 22: India has begun rolling out mandatory minimum wage requirements for housemaids working in the Gulf and parts of Africa and Southeast Asia, a minister said on Friday.

“They are the most exploited lot,” Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi said, citing frequent complaints of harassment, overwork and low wages from female domestic workers.

“They are not covered by the labour laws of those countries.” Indian embassies in 18 countries have been told to prescribe minimum monthly wages for maids in the range of $300 to $350 in consultation with local governments, the minister said.

“Otherwise we will not give them clearance to go,” said Ravi, adding that he expected Indian embassies in the countries concerned to issue wage guidelines by the beginning of March.

After that, Indian missions must verify work contracts to make sure they are following the new wage requirements in order for the worker to get emigration clearance.

The Indian missions in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have already put the rules in place.

Housemaids to Bahrain, where some 130,000 Indians work, must earn a minimum of $265 a month while those to the UAE, home to at least one million Indians, will earn $300 a month.

Food, accommodation and air fare must also be provided by the employer.

The wage guidelines for female domestic helps are part of a larger policy first announced last year to protect Indian women workers abroad.

Female workers emigrating to these countries must also be older than 30 — a rule aimed at stopping trafficking for sex.

“Sex trafficking also we want to check,” said Ravi. “We will not relax this requirement at all.” Millions of Indians work overseas, particularly in the six oil-rich Gulf Arab nations of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The minister said wages were not being set for other categories of workers.

As many as six million Indian expatriates send home $20 billion a year from Gulf states. Workers’ associations and human rights groups regularly voice complaints of mistreatment.—AFP