Migrant Workers

The US is reviewing a proposal to eliminate the 60-day window for foreign workers holding non-immigrant visas to find employment after a job loss, a move that may force them to leave the country immediately. A proposal from the Department of Homeland Security is currently under review at the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB), according to its website. If finalised, the proposed regulation would eliminate the 60-day grace period accorded to certain principal non-immigrants and their dependents if the principal's employment ceases before their period of stay expires. Further details of the proposal are not immediately known. The 60-day grace period was introduced in 2017 to allow foreign workers and their dependents to stay in the US while searching for new employment after a job loss. Immigration consultants said the Department of Homeland Security has the discretion to shorten or refuse the grace period, but has rarely done so. The rule applies to E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B,

Labour body starts finding jobs for affected migrant workers as authorities investigate alleged employer abandonment

The labour ministry has started consultations with industry bodies on migrant worker welfare, focusing on housing, portability of benefits and registration reforms

Iran war has dealt a double blow to the economy, with returning migrant workers stuck in India and unable to find similar pay in their hometowns, raising risk of social unrest as unemployment grows

MSDE Secretary Debashree Mukherjee said the ministry is building a common database of skilling centres to improve coordination and benchmark quality standards

RBI Deputy Governor says remittances to India likely to remain stable as demand for migrant workers may rise despite ongoing conflict in West Asia

Decision follows reports of migrant workers returning back to their homes due to LPG shortages; authorities aim to stabilise supply and streamline distribution through state-run channels

There have, no doubt, been admirable efforts by the government to cushion the energy shock emanating from the Gulf, but there is only so much it can do in such global circumstances

The ongoing LPG crisis, which has led to the mass closure of restaurants and hotels across Kerala, has triggered an exodus of migrant workers returning to their native places, as Ramzan approaches and elections are to be held in West Bengal and Assam. Restaurant and hotel operators are trying to retain their staff from other states, fearing that if migrant workers leave now, they may not return until after the election. G Jayapal, state president of the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA), told PTI that migrant workers from West Bengal and Assam were expected to return home a week before the elections in their respective states. "However, with the LPG crisis forcing hotels and restaurants to shut down, migrant workers will start returning to their native places early. They will return only after the elections. Also, Ramzan will be celebrated next week, and people who were working in restaurants will start returning to their states due to the lack of jobs here," he ...

Over 18 million workers were employed in Saudi Arabia in the second quarter of 2025 (Q2 CY2025). Out of these, nearly 77.5 per cent were foreign workers

A new scheme is being launched soon to provide interest subsidies on loans taken by registered workers to encourage self-employment

Under the Shramshree scheme, each returning worker will receive ₹5,000 per month for a year or until they secure new employment in Bengal

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a PIL which alleged that Bengali-speaking migrant workers are been detained on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, however, refused to pass any interim order with regard to the detention, saying any order will have consequences especially with respect to people, who genuinely came from across the borders. "States where these migrant workers are working have the right to inquire from their state of origin about their bonafide but the problem is in the interregnum. If we pass any interim orders, then it will have consequences, especially those who have illegally come from across the border and need to be deported under the law," the bench said. It asked advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioner West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board, to wait for sometime for the responses from the Centre and nine statesOdisha, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, ..

The overall funds released under MGNREGS have gone down over the last five years, even as the allocations in the Budget have gone up, information given by the government in the Rajya Sabha showed. According to a written reply by Minister of State for Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan to a question by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, the year of the Covid lockdown 2020-21 saw many migrant workers return to their native villages and Rs 1,11,170.86 crore was released under the rural job scheme, the highest in the five-year period. At the Budget Estimate stage at the beginning of the financial year, Rs. 61,500 crore was allocated for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). In 2021-22, Rs 98,467.85 crore was released under the scheme, against a Budget Estimate of Rs 73,000 crore, while in 2022-23, Rs 90,810.99 crore was released, well over the estimate of Rs 73,000 crore when the Union Budget was announced. In 2023-24, Rs 89,268.30 crore was ...

The West Bengal Police on Friday launched a WhatsApp helpline, 9147727666, to provide assistance to migrant workers facing problems in other states. The helpline was launched after several complaints were received that people from the state were encountering a range of problems, from workplace exploitation to unsafe living conditions, while working in other states, a police officer said. "In many cases, the victims or their families do not know where or how to report such incidents. To bridge this gap, the state police are urging affected individuals or their family members to promptly inform their local police station or district control room," he said. "The WhatsApp-only helpline is also launched for the purpose, so that families can send messages detailing the nature of the problems, along with the victim's name and address," he said. The officer said all messages will be verified, and we will coordinate with the state authorities concerned to take necessary action. This initia

A viral video shows a group of people, allegedly from Shiv Sena (UBT), slapping the driver and making him publicly apologise for his 'anti-marathi' remarks

Voters added after 2003 must submit one of 11 documents, but many poor and migrant families lack paperwork, raising concerns ahead of the Bihar elections

Former Delhi Chief Secretary Shailaja Chandra urged CM Rekha Gupta to show courage, end vote-bank politics, and prioritise long-term urban planning over short-term populist measures

Responding to the SC bench, Bhushan noted that the claim made is not just his, but a similar concern has been flagged by former chief economists, who believe that India's poverty is on the rise

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday said he would hold a combined meeting of Home and Labour departments along with Labour Minister Santosh Lad on measures that can be taken regarding the increasing number of crimes involving migrant labourers from other states. He said workforce coming to Karnataka from other states cannot be stopped, but there is a definite need to take note of criminal activities involving them and take measures against it. The Home Minister's statement came in the wake of alleged kidnapping and murder of a five-year-old girl in Hubballi by a 35-year-old Ritesh Kumar, who hails from Bihar's Patna, who was killed in a police firing on Sunday. "Labourers are coming from different parts of the country as Bengaluru is a fast developing city and also across Karnataka. In many cases we see they are involved in criminal activities. We definitely need to take note of this," Parameshwara said in response to a question that people coming from other parts of th