Migrant Resource Centre opened at Kochi

Kochi: The Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Mr Vayalar Ravi, has opened the country’s first Migrant Resource Centre at Kochi on the premises of the Protector of Emigrants office.

Mr Ravi said that the Centre was in tune with the initiatives taken by his Ministry to ensure welfare of ordinary people working in foreign countries and their legal security.

This centre will work as a walk-in counselling centre and telephonic helpline for information dissemination and redress of the overseas Indian workers.

As the next step, sub-centres will be opened in all the districts, he added.

The Minister also said that he has written to chief ministers to take stringent action against recruitment agencies, which misguide and cheat foreign employment aspirants.

The centre is opened as part of implementing the project “Regional Dialogue and Programme on Facilitating, Managed and Legal migration between Asia and the European Union” in India.

The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and International Organisation of Migration are jointly implementing the project, which is sponsored by the European Union and covers 10 Asian countries including India.

The overall objective is to facilitate the development of legal labour migration from South and South East Asia to EU, to enhance cooperation on the management of labour migration and to make measures to reduce irregular migration.