New Delhi, Aug 3 Two MPs, who have just returned from a visit to the Indian worker-dominated labour camps in Oman, Wednesday urged the government to sign a bilateral agreement with Muscat to ensure the workers are given the basic minimum wages there.

Sebastian Paul and P. Sathi Devi of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), who visited Oman earlier this week to study the problems faced by the Indian workers in the labour camps, also demanded that India should ban women going to Oman as housemaids as there were growing incidents of sexual harassments.

"India should sign a bilateral agreement with Oman to help our labours to get at least the minimum wages," the MPs said.

Paul and Devi were sent to the Gulf country by the CPI-M in the wake of detention of several Indians by military authorities as part of combing operations against Somali militants who have infiltrated that country.

According to the MPs, 1,914 Indian nationals had been taken into custody for not having proper documents.

"But the Indian government issued emergency certificates (authenticating their nationality) and freed many of them. Around 180 are still there in the military camps," they said.

Both Paul and Devi said they held discussions with Juma bin Ali bin Juma Al Juma, Oman's minister of manpower, and Indian envoy in Muscat Ashok Kumar Athri regarding the plight of the Indian workers there.

"The minister said there was already a law in place to ensure the minimum wage for all the labours and it could be extended to Indians," the MPs claimed.

Oman Army took Indian workers into custody during combing operations as many of them could not produce proper documents like labour permits, resident cards and passports. They had been detained in army camps.