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Hyderabad: Telangana migrant workers, in pursuit of better job opportunities, are shifting away from the traditional Gulf countries to Europe and Russia. But it comes at a cost.

Around 40 per cent of complaints have been received from workers who have illegally entered Europe, reported Times of India (TOI).

Pravasi Mitra Labour Union president Swadesh Paripandla said that most distress calls relate to poor work conditions, low-paying jobs and being unable to leave as their visas are confiscated by the employers.

Paripandla said that more and more people prefer Italy, Finland and Russia. “Agents” who promise them lucrative jobs take a large sum, in lakhs, for travel, accommodation and others. But when they land, they realise they have been duped.

“It’s like we are in prison. After reaching Moscow, they booked us a taxi, and we reached our room. Every day, a vehicle comes, picks us up and drops us back. We are locked inside a room and made to work in a packaging firm for 12-14 hours straight,” a native of Nirmal who is in Russia was quoted by TOI.

Paripandla said many enter illegally without proper documentation and that fear stops them from approaching law enforcement. “If a person dies, we are unable to file a travel insurance claim,” he said, recalling a recent death of a Telugu man whose family could not receive his post-mortem report.

Several are lured by good pay. The Nirmal native said the “agent” promised him a monthly salary between Rs 80,000 and Rs 90,000 and made him pay Rs 3 lakh for the travel and documentation. He is yet to receive his wages.

“People are being taken on Schengen visas with the promise that they can work in 30 European countries. It is only after they go that they realise what a hell hole they have landed in,” Paripandla said.

Many live in deplorable conditions, crammed in a room with no basic amenities like drinking water and clean food and rarely allowed to step outside.

“Here (in India), I was working in the banking sector. When I reached Russia, I was shocked to learn my job was garbage segregation. And I was paid 30 per cent less than what I was promised. I could not take it any longer and somehow made it back home,” said one person who returned after three months.