NEW DELHI : Jameel Basha, 36, is in a dilemma—should he return to India or not? He has been working as an office assistant in a construction company in Saudi Arabia since 2017, earning the equivalent of ₹45,000 a month.
His work prospects are now uncertain because of the turbulence caused by the dual shock of the covid-19 pandemic and the plunge in oil prices, the mainstay of the West Asian country’s revenue. “My employer hasn’t paid us for the past three months.
I am unsure whether I will be sacked," Basha said by phone from Dammam. Sustaining himself in Dammam and sending money home to repay a ₹8 lakh personal loan, is now a challenge. “I came to work here only because salaries are so low in India.