The West Bengal Government is set to open an immigrant cell to help migrant labourers working abroad, based on the advisory of the External Affairs Ministry and the Union Home Ministry to all states, officials said.
According to the state administration, the primary job of the cell is to look into the complaints of labourers getting deceived by employers or agents. It will monitor agencies that recruit youths for overseas jobs, verify their authenticity and registration, and make periodic visits to the districts where the agents work. Besides, the cell will also look into the complaints of migrant students getting cheated.
According to a source, a senior IPS officer would lead the cell that will comprise police personnel.
A senior government official said, “In the last one and a half decades, the number of migrant labourers has increased in the state. In many cases, the labourers who go abroad are being cheated on the pretext of high-salaried jobs. But on reaching the workplace, they are given a daily-wage job. They can complain at the window of the immigrant cell in the country. But that investigation is time-consuming as they have to handle a huge number of cases. So, the Central Government has asked the state government to open such cells to easily investigate such complaints”.
He further said the cell will start functioning once the IPS officer is finalised.
“Not only migrant labourers but a sizeable number of students are also going abroad for higher studies. These students are also getting cheated. This cell also investigates such crime,” he added.
He further added that this cell will serve as a liaison between the central and state governments. The Central Government can forward a complaint of fraud to the state immigrant cell for investigation, which will further inform the district concerned, and then the district will provide the necessary infrastructure and manpower to nab such criminals.
He also said that it would be easier to monitor the illegal work of agencies if the state has a cell of its own. “Earlier, the state could not interfere in these agencies’ works. Now they can easily intervene and if necessary, they can also take action,” he added.