Goa govt should measure influx from Gulf

FROM NT NETWORK
Posted on 2009-06-25
PANAJI: A Dubai-based Goan entrepreneur, Mr Nilesh Naik speaking to ‘The Navhind Times’ confirmed that the Goan population in Gulf countries since November 2008, has been facing adverse effects of the global financial meltdown, with around 40,000 to 50,000 Goans being forced to return to their native state, after losing jobs.
The precarious employment condition in Gulf countries has witnessed most of the companies giving three options to their employees namely proceeding on a long leave of up to six months, facing 15 to 20 per cent salary cut while continuing on the job or getting sacked from the work, Mr Naik informed, stating that most of the Goans in Gulf countries are either in the administrative jobs or working for the hospitality industry.
If some employees are lucky enough to choose the first two options, then there is no guarantee that they will continue in the job without any problem,” he predicted, pointing out that those who have proceeded on long leave might have to continue with the leave, or the salary cut could be hiked further, if the situation does not improve.
The state government in fact, should have started tracing such Goans at the Dabolim airport itself as most of them are provided with air tickets by their companies and at least 75 per cent of them directly return to Goa while 25 per cent of such people arrive in Goa from Mumbai, Mr Naik said.
Well-known agencies in Dubai have placed the figure of Goans returning to Goa from Gulf countries after losing their jobs to somewhere between 40,000 and 50,000,” he said. “As for me, though I have a company in Dubai the global recession has forced the company to put all its ongoing projects on hold, with no new projects coming forward,” Mr Naik informed, pointing out that presently he is in Goa and his partner is managing the company in Dubai.
Many Goans who had taken their wives and children to the Gulf countries have started sending their families back as their companies have reduced their salaries and they find it difficult to manage the families with their reduced income.
Some of the people who have returned from Gulf said that the managements of the companies want their employees to work at reduced wages, which has prompted many workers who had been working for a number of years to leave their jobs and return home.
The companies in Gulf have been using the opportunity to employ newer staff at a reduced salary thus helping them overcome the effect of recession, said Mr Irfan Khan who returned to Goa recently giving up his job in a well-known company in Dubai.