23
Jan
2008
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Gulf's Foreign Workers – A Tragedy Unfolding?

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I was interviewed recently for the Media Line and was asked questions concerning migrant workers in the Middle East and how/why we’re trying to help them through our website.

You can listen to it by clicking here.

This is an excerpt of the associated article:

A-Shafe’i’s words are echoed by Khawla Mattar, a senior specialist on employment principles and rights with the International Labor Organization (ILO). It is obvious that the treatment of these workers is not up to standard; there is no protection of their rights at all, says Mattar.

Mattar and A-Shafe’i agree that better legislation is required. There is little legal protection for foreign workers in the Gulf, which makes abuse more likely, says Mattar. However, while Mattar maintains that some governments are beginning to take the matter seriously, A-Shafe’i thinks the problem is mainly ignored.

Some countries, such as Bahrain, are growing increasingly aware of foreign workers’ needs, says Arindam Basu of The National Human Rights Committee in Doha, Qatar. Since Bahrain began running short of oil revenues it has been forced to pursue a more progressive labor policy, he argues. But, at the other end of the scale, are countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which still enjoy huge oil revenues and are less pressured to accommodate foreign workers, he points out.

Basu agrees that the situation regarding legal representation in Qatar is as A-Shafe’i describes. Most disputes over working conditions are ruled in the lower courts and the only participants are the plaintiff with or without a translator, the defendant, and a judge. Here too, lawyers are only involved if a serious crime is committed.

Read the full article here.

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