"How Lower Minimum Wage Terms May Hurt Indian Workers In The Gulf," 18 June 2021

...... In September 2020, the overseas employment division of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued two circulars fixing the reduced MRWs thus: Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the UAE at $200 per month, Saudi Arabia at $324 and Kuwait at $245 in the case of work-visa holders and $196 for domestic workers. Implemented across all skill levels and occupations, the reduction in MRW ranged between 30% and 50%.

Migration experts and civil society organisations believe that reducing MRWs could increase employment of Indian workers in the short-term, but these gains will last only until other source countries for migrant workers also do the same. This could hit the competitive edge that Indian workers hold. Migrant unions also point out that workers who signed employment contracts before the reduction of MRWs would now have to either accept lower wages or let go of the employment opportunity