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For migrant workers in the GCC, decades of marginalisation and exclusion from welfare policies made their situation more precarious during the pandemic. This report, based on data collected in the first few months of the pandemic, sheds light on some of the key concerns and patterns of violation of rights.
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Dropping Dead
Based on the deceased workers’ medical records, employment contracts, photographs, travel documents, and the testimonies from victims’ families, Migrant-Rights.org’s investigation reveals a grim picture of untimely and unexplained deaths.
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“We cried and begged” [Audio story]
On 24 and 25 June 2021, Abu Dhabi authorities conducted midnight raids on several apartments housing African migrant workers . An estimated 800 workers, primarily from Uganda, Nigeria, and Cameroon, were rounded up – most in their bedclothes, some even naked – and put onto buses without explanation.
قراءة باللغة العربية
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Bahrain
New Legislation:
Gradual implementation of the "Wage Protection System" began on 1 May 2021. The final phase will begin on 1 January 2022 and will cover all labour law workers. Domestic workers are excluded from WPS, though they are among the most vulnerable to wage theft.
Residency laws were amended to allow foreign workers to sponsor their parents and adult children on dependent visas., provided the worker earns at least BD 1000 (USD 2,651) per month.
Critical Issues:
The labour inspectorate remains widely inadequate in capacity and function to ensure minimum labour and safety standards and decent work.
Police are falsely accusing Afriican women of prostitution, subjecting them to arbitrary arrest and deportation without due process.
In September, thousands of migrant workers working for government-contracted companies staged protests against wage theft and other labour abuse, which remain rampant issues in the country.
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Kuwait
New Legislation:
The government has reversed a decision to ban migrants above the age of 60 from residing in the country, and instead introduced a (costly) visa option.
In an effort to address labour shortages, migrant workers from any sector can now transfer to another with permission of their employer but without needing to complete one year of service. Domestic workers are excluded from this decision, and other restrictions apply.
Critical Issues:
Covid-19 restrictions on recruitment has led to a spike in trafficking and forced labour of domestic workers, which has not yet been adequately addressed by authorities
Migrant workers, particularly those in transport, F&B, and domestic work, continue to bear the brunt of exclusionary Covid-19 responses and weak labour regulations
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Oman
New Legislation:
Relaxation of NOC requirements for workers under the labour law, but only after completion of their work contracts, except in limited conditions.
Critical Issues:
A number of domestic workers, primarily from Sierra Leone, have been stranded in Oman for over a year without support from authorities. Some are victims of trafficking.
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Qatar
New Legislation:
The new minimum wage came into effect in March 2021.
A new whistleblower platform allows individuals to file anonymous complaints but still requires a valid mobile number.
Critical Issues:
Significant reforms announced in 2020 met with several roadblocks as the Shura Council made recommendations that could undo strides made in reforming the labour code and kafala.
Job mobility promised in last year’s reforms continues to be non-viable for a large number of migrant workers, particularly those in domestic work.
The first phase of the ILO’s technical cooperation with Qatar came to an end and was renewed for another term, but without requiring reporting to the general body of the UN agency.
Migrant rights activist and MR contributor Malcolm Bidali was held incommunicado for several weeks. He was released on payment of a large fine.
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Saudi Arabia
New Legislation:
Reforms to NOCs and exit visa requirements came into force in March 2021. Restrictions remain in place, and the reforms exclude domestic workers entirely.
Critical Issues:
Tens of thousands of workers have been arrested, placed into unsanitary detention centres, and deported without individual review. The forced return of many of these migrants, who hail primarily from Ethiopia and Yemen, likely amounts to refoulement.
Higher expat taxes make it difficult for families and communities to remain in Saudi Arabia.
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UAE
New Legislation:
A new labour law will come into effect in February 2022. Implementing Regulations for the law, which have not yet been released, will determine the extent of reforms and their impact on lower-income migrant workers.
Critical Issues:
The abuse of the country’s visit visa system, through which migrants are duped into high fees, fake jobs, and vulnerable to trafficking, remains a severe issue.
World Expo recruitment and working conditions remain opaque.
Hundreds of workers from African countries who were arbitrarily detained and deported, including those with valid visas, are struggling to recover their personal items and owed salaries, and for an explanation from the government,
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Follow us on Twitter @MigrantRights for our latest news and commentary.
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