How a dream job in Armenia turned into a nightmare

For Rajesh G*, a 34-year-old from Kanyakumari, the offer of a job as a food delivery partner in Armenia with a monthly income of ₹45,000 came as a relief. Finally, he thought, he could settle his debts that added up to ₹20 lakh.Rajesh came to know about the job through a friend, and took another loan of ₹2 lakh to pay Johoz Solutions, a recruitment agency run by a family of four in Kanyakumari, to process his visa and secure the post.“I thought I would finally be able to pay off my debtors. But it all came crashing,” he says.The minute the job aspirants landed at the airport in Yerevan, Armenia, their passports were confiscated and they were taken to a hostel. Around 50 people were crammed into one room. medium104316203“We were taken there to work, but for most part of our stay, we didn’t work and were confined to a room with one meal a day. When we did get to work, we were made to work from 11am till midnight,” says Rajesh.Like Rajesh, several other people fell for the fraud in Kanyakumari two months ago. They were offered jobs as driver, manager, clerk, delivery partner and even in the IT sector. All of them paid between ₹1.5 lakh and ₹6 lakh to the agency. The aspirants were given a visit visa (valid for 21 days) and told that they would soon get a work visa.Medical students from Tamil Nadu studying at Yerevan Haybusak University act as their visa sponsors as they get a commission. One of the rescued job aspirants says they were starved and beaten up by these students. Having had enough of the torture, Rajesh booked a ticket and left for Kerala.Rescuing the rest“They tormented those who were timid but whoever questioned them were allowed to go back home. I worked there for two-and-a-half months and didn’t get a single paisa. After I reached Kerala, I decided to file a complaint and called the Indian Labourline helpline,” says Rajesh.A member at the Indian Labourline, Chennai, says, “Through Rajesh, we tracked down the other people who were still stranded in Armenia and got all the information of the medical students who wrongfully confined them, and the people involved with Johoz Solutions.”At least 20 of them returned two weeks ago after forceful detention in Armenia, while the rest are stranded with no means to return. medium104316221The Labourline team says that though the victims filed a complaint at police stations in Armenia and the Indian Embassy in Yerevan, the officials did not investigate the matter or bother to call those involved for an inquiry.“We have filed a petition and are awaiting a probe into this matter. But as unfortunate as it is, other than bringing the recruitment agency to justice, there’s not much that can be done.”Data from the Protector of Emigrants’ (POE) office shows a steady increase of emigrants from Tamil Nadu going for work to ECR countries (where an emigration check is required), such as UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Iran, Malaysia, Thailand and many more. In the past three years, from 4,325 in 2020, the numbers had jumped to 14,838 in 2022.While this has boosted the scope of job opportunities abroad, it has also paved the way for illegal recruitment agencies to operate.Plenty of loopholesKeeping an eye on illegal recruitment agencies that post job postings has become a hassle for the authorities, as they have no control over what people share and consume on social media and the internet. Even though only government-licensed recruitment agencies are allowed to recruit people for overseas job opportunities, many, especially in rural areas, fall prey to fancy job opportunities and end up paying a huge sum to secure these bogus jobs.“It is difficult to keep track of these illegal recruitment agencies because they keep cropping up through different channels. They either operate through local agents, or word-of-mouth, and seem authentic with a website,” says Shanmuga Raja, a recruitment agent based in Chennai. medium104316236“Another reason why the government is not able to maintain data on the number of people stranded abroad is because they go through a visit visa. Until and unless a person who is stranded reaches out for help, the government doesn’t have the faintest idea of what is happening,” he adds.Licensed recruitment agencies follow strict rules and are prohibited from sending women for domestic work abroad. “Only women of ages 30 and above are allowed to work abroad as domestic workers,” says Raja. “Job postings for domestic work are listed on the official government recruitment website. They are permitted to work only after attestation by the embassy in the visiting country. Under no circumstances can a private recruitment agency send a domestic worker abroad for work.”Adds Protector of Emigrants A Subhadra, “It is difficult to screen every visa application and check whether the person is being scammed. People can call our office, write an email to us and verify the job posting, or check the authenticity or licence number of the recruitment agency before taking up the job or paying them any money. We respond within 24 hours.”*To protect the privacy of individuals, names have been changed