Soiru Velip
Panaji
Although Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and NRI Affairs Commissioner Narendra Sawaikar have urged Goans to verify the authenticity of recruitment agents before pursuing overseas job opportunities, the state government currently lacks a system to authenticate these agencies or agents.
In response to concerns about the growing overseas job scam, Sawant said on Wednesday that the government, through the NRI Affairs Commission, is closely monitoring the situation.
“Many Goan youths have fallen victim to such scams. I urge everyone to be cautious and avoid falling prey to fraudulent recruitment agents,” he stated.
However, there is no official mechanism in place for jobseekers to verify the legitimacy of recruitment agents, who often charge lakhs of rupees for sending youths abroad.
The issue came to light after two Goan youths, who were deported from the United States recently, filed a complaint with the Vasco police. They accused the New Vaddem-based Captain George Consultancy Services of sending them illegally to the US via Mexico, using the ‘donkey’ route.
The youths claimed the agency had charged them Rs 8 lakh and Rs 10.5 lakh, respectively.
When asked about such cases, Sawaikar responded that, apart from the complaint in Vasco, the commission has not received any other plaints.
“We have urged the Goan youth to be vigilant and verify the credentials of agents claiming to offer overseas job placements,” he said.
However, when it was pointed out that no mechanism exists for verifying the claims of the agents, Sawaikar acknowledged that many private agents operate without registration and jobseekers often proceed directly, paying large sums of money.
He also noted that, to his knowledge, no such verification mechanism exists in any other state in the country.
“However, we can consider developing such a mechanism if feasible,” he added.
Given the increasing number of fraudulent recruitment agents, it is imperative for the state to establish a system to prevent such job scams.
