Lip Service on Worker's Rights in the Gulf?

The Gulf Cooperation Council is pledging new efforts to prevent abuses against foreign "unskilled" workers, who incidentally comprise the majority of the population in most Gulf states:

Gulf Arab states heavily dependent on an Asian labour force agreed on Tuesday with labour-sending Asian countries to join forces against the exploitation of expat workers from Asia. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) labour ministers and counterparts from Asia are to propose an action plan to protect the welfare of Asian workers, according to their Abu Dhabi Declaration.

The ministers have recommended the drawing up within three months of the plan aimed at “preventing illegal recruitment practices” both at the country of origin and in host countries. The declaration also called for “promoting welfare and protection measures for contractual workers ... and preventing their exploitation at origin and destination.” Emirati Labour Minister Ali al-Kaabi said at the start of the ministerial meeting on Tuesday that “guest workers must be afforded the security that they will receive the benefits that they are entitled to”...

“We have agreed that Asian workers are contracted workers, not what some call immigrant workers,” Kaabi told reporters at the end of the ministerial meeting, stressing that those workers stay in the GCC for a limited period.

“This would preserve the demographic nature of the countries of the region,” said Yousuf Abdulghani, the labour ministry assistant undersecretary on Monday. In October, Bahrain’s Labour Minister Majeed al-Alawi called for a six-year residency cap on foreign workers. But a GCC summit in December did not take up the proposal...

On Sunday, New York-based Human Right Watch urged the meeting in Abu Dhabi to adopt measures to halt “widespread violations” of the rights of Asian expatriate workers. Kaabi told the meeting on Tuesday that the United Arab Emirates, where thousands of Asian workers have gone on strikes over past months, has been working hard to improve conditions.

It's hard to believe this fundamentally abusive system will be seriously affected by yesterday's announcement.

Comments

[hermes bags]

Excellent piece of writing and definitely helps with becoming familiar with the subject matter much better

[dr dre beats headphones]

Or maybe they'll request Everyday is Like Sunday: "Come, come, nuclear bomb..."