New Minimum Wage for Kuwait's Expat Workers Paves the Way for Domestic Worker Reforms

Despite the inaction seen in Bahrain to institute a universal minimum wage for workers outside of the public sector, progressive measures are being taken by neighboring Kuwait to implement upgrades to its newly approved labor law.

The Trade Arabia News Source released an article recently that revealed the approval of a minimum wage for expatriate workers of approximately 207 USD per month. Although the salary is relatively small, this is a major milestone across the GCC countries, and especially within Kuwait; a country that has traditionally neglected the establishment of legal safeguards to protect its foreign population from exploitation and coercion by Kuwaiti citizens.

Kuwait's new labor law was approved earlier this year, and until that time, had not been reformed in over forty years.

Although a minimum wage is certain to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of Kuwait's foreign workers, domestic workers are currently excluded from the new labor law.

The article also focused on promulgating legislation that would enforce a new minimum wage for Kuwait's estimated 600,000 domestic workers, employed as maids, drivers, gardeners and security guards. A proposed salary of 45 Kuwaiti Dinars (approximately 154 USD) is one of several reforms that will be included in the draft domestic worker law, along with amendments to enforce working hours, payment of wages and protection from abuse.

Such legislation would vastly improve the lives of domestic workers who are often forced to work 16-hour days. If the current draft law is approved by parliament, working hours for domestic workers would be limited to eight per day, employers would no longer be allowed to withhold passports, and workers would be allowed one day off per week and time-off during national holidays.

Skeptics still question the extent to which the government would be able to enforce the new law given the high sensitivity associated with domestic issues (within private homes) and how they should be regulated by the Ministry of Social Development (responsible for regulating all other foreign workers). For example, the new law would impose fines on employers who fail to pay their domestic workers, but there are no mechanisms in place to enforce or prove that a violation has been committed. Since most sponsors do not allow their domestic workers to contact their embassies or law enforcement agents, most cases go unreported.

Bahrain's Reliance on Cheap Labor Justifies Inaction on Minimum Wage Implementation

In a rather unsurprising development that touched the English-speaking media of Bahrain, a senior representative of the Bahraini Government stated publicly that the implementation of a minimum wage for expatriate workers would directly harm the island Kingdom's economy and limit regional competitiveness. In his remarks to a human rights commission, the legal advisor for Bahrain's Ministry of Labor further commented that the implementation of a minimum wage will make businessmen reluctant to invest in Bahrain if it lacks the advantage of cheap labor.

Thankfully, a human rights activist responded by slamming the government's decision, rejecting government claims that a minimum wage would hurt the national economy, or that it was ample grounds to revoke the rights of laborers or infringe upon their human rights.

This is one, of several examples that trace back to a source of inaction by the Bahraini government to acknowledge the abuses of its migrant workers, who currently amount to over 50% of the country's overall population. A disconnect continues to prevail, wherein the Bahraini government fails to grant or even recognize fundamental rights that should be awarded to expatriate workers regardless of their nationality. It is unjust, and inhumane to recruit workers from abroad, to promise them wages, and then to either withhold or garnish those wages without any legal protections under a competent and capable government.

The average migrant worker makes under 80 Bahraini Dinars a month, a pitiful and nearly unlivable salary that forces many into dilapidated housing and enhanced exposure to disease and long-term health risks, due to limited caloric intake. Champions for this minimum wage are not even asking for more than this amount, they are just pushing for a system that will force companies to pay workers what they deserve in their contracts

This perpetual inaction certainly does not stop with the expatriate community living in Bahrain, national citizens themselves continue to fight for a legal minimum wage as well. Only recently did the government approve a minimum wage for government employees-how convenient. Cheap labor competition is the endemic response to local cries for employment for young Bahrainis seeking jobs but demanding higher salaries than their expatriate counterparts. The majority of the working class still lacks the same safeguards one would expect in a country that boasts a business friendly, economically diversified, and liberal working environment to the outside world. But it is becoming all too evident, and reaffirmed by the powers that be, that this facade can only be sustained by cheap labor. It would be more responsible of the Ministry of Labor to formulate solutions to its alleged economic precariousness, which apparently will be destabilized with the implementation of responsible and stimulating safeguards that improve the economic viability of life of the working class, rather than relying on a system that continues to subjugate, demoralize, and muster resentment for tens if not hundreds of thousands of Bahrain's residents.

This same representative also added that the Ministry of Labor had no intention of bringing Bahrain's 27,000 domestic workers under the new Labor Law, but that they would receive protection and be subjected to several rules and provisions that would ensure that their basic rights are safeguarded. HOW? It continues to baffle me how government representatives can continue to release formal statements that lack any evidentiary support. If domestic workers continue to remain outside of the jurisdiction of a labor law, there are no mechanisms in place that can shield them from: abuse, trafficking, withheld salaries or documentation, and exploitation. We need to see more tangible results or proposed ACTION following comments like these.

You have to give credit to those who can release public statements that clearly perpetuate a flawed system that is negatively impacting so many peoples' lives and lacks any attempts to correct those injustices.

HRW Commends Bahrain's Sponsorship Reforms but Highlights Shortcomings for Domestic Workers

To elaborate further on an early post found in this blog, Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently released a report highlighting the slow reforms that are taking place in the labor sectors of several source and destination countries for human trafficking, including Bahrain. Despite several shortcomings in the country, Bahrain was commended for its unprecedented reforms to the Kafala Sponsorship System, which for the first time in the region, awards migrant workers the rights to switch sponsors without consent, and in the absence of unpaid wages, or allegations of abuse.

Bahrain's Minister of Labor has justified Bahrain's interest in reform by linking the sponsorship system with modern-day slavery.

Although the new system of sponsorship still offers loopholes for coercion by exploitive employers, it offers a jumping-off point for further development in the future.

HRW plans to forward recommendations directly to the Bahraini Government to address its inaction on domestic worker issues, and notes that all of the governments in this particular report fell short of providing minimum protections to prevent abuse of domestic workers. The report addressed shortcomings pertaining to domestic workers' lack of protection under national labor laws, regulation of immigration and monitoring of recruitment agency absconding, effective responses by police and courts following allegations of physical or sexual abuse, and involvement by civil society actors and labor unions.

Other key recommendations encouraged regional governments to award domestic workers the rights to freedom of association to highlight common grievances and offer a forum for improvements, as well as, approval for legal status of migrant and domestic workers involved in court proceedings. Currently, domestic workers who present allegations of abuse to police undertake an illegal immigration status by default, deterring many from reporting crimes committed against them and resulting in immediate deportation.

Finally, Justice and Islamic Affairs Ministries were encouraged to provide increased services for survivors of abuse, to establish better parameters for identifying cases of human trafficking from forced domestic servitude, and to prevent, investigate, and prosecute criminal violence against domestic workers.

Human Rights Report Paints a Bleak Picture of Migrant and Domestic Worker Rights in Kuwait

The Kuwait Times printed a front page article highlighting that advancements in the country's human rights agenda are still far from adequate following the release of a systematic report by a local "human rights watchdog." Amongst other critical issues, the Kuwait Society for Human Rights (KSHR) provided an assessment on the human rights issues Kuwait faces regarding domestic workers and expatriates vis a vis a newly reformed labor law.

The report, which showcased analyses on migrant workers, domestic workers, Kuwait's bedoon (stateless Arab) population, and freedoms in the media and within parliament, devoted a sizable portion of its findings to the violations committed against Kuwait's substantial migrant worker population.

The article reports that the KSHR revealed that efforts from within Kuwaiti society along with input from local NGO's were unsuccessful in ameliorating the Kafeela sponsorship system and that several expat labor groups, including cleaners, security guards, and power meter readers are still struggling to obtain unpaid salaries guaranteed in their employment contracts. Within the report, the KSHR notes that it has received several worker complaints against employers demanding unpaid wages that in some cases, exceeded a period of over nine months and indicate continued violations of migrant worker rights in the country.

The report further asserts that the Ministry of Social Development (responsible for regulating Kuwait's foreign labor population) has failed to implement proper mechanisms to ensure that employers are fulfilling their obligations towards their workers and to penalize violating employers to avert damage to the country's image.

Domestic worker issues were also raised. The report underscored the lack of legal protections Kuwait's estimated 600,000 domestic workers face and that the problem is only going to worsen given the country's increasing demand for housemaids. The report stated that it is the responsibility of the government to implement safeguards to preserve domestic worker rights, maintain the employers compliance to fulfill these rights, and prevent further violations and human trafficking.

With regards to Kuwait's new labor law, the report championed the Kuwaiti government's long overdue amendments to incorporate greater legal protection for expatriate workers in the country but also demonstrated concern over the absence of a minimum wage clause and the entire exclusion of domestic workers from its jurisdiction. The report urged parliamentarians to pass the Domestic Helpers Bill set to travel through the legal channels later this year and to push for more services for housemaids-like shelters for runaways.

Saudi Arabia's Rahma Campaign Encourages Mercy Towards Foreign Workers

In a slightly older article I recently came across, the BBC highlights the plight of domestic workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the innovative methods the government is taking to raise awareness of the common abuses its estimated 1.5 million domestic workers face. According to Human Rights Watch, domestic workers are often treated like slaves under a legal system that does not allot any protections to migrant workers from their violent, coercive or exploitive sponsors.

The Rahma (Mercy) Campaign highlighting these injustices is aired on state-owned satellite television channels and national newspapers in Saudi Arabia, as well as in the London-based newspaper Al-Hayat. Print versions depict a maid with a dog collar around her neck sitting in a kennel, and a foreign chauffeur harnessed like a horse with a Saudi woman holding the reins.

In the video campaign (below), a Saudi man is seen shouting at his foreign maid for not ironing his clothes properly. Another scene shows him shouting racial slurs from his car at an Asian worker. 2 additional commercials have been aired to date and are also included in the following clip.



At the end of the first clip, the words appear, "Man la yarham, la yurham (He who shows no mercy, will receive no mercy [from God])," automatically equating inhumane treatment of other humans as a crime under Islam. Similar moralistic quotes pertaining to Islam conclude the other clips as well.

To quote the Director-General of the Saudi Advertising Agency, and supporter of the campaign, "we [Saudi Arabians] are obliged to treat them [helpers] well. Why ask them to do things that we can't bear ourselves? If we have mercy on them, then Allah will have mercy on us."

Many local media-outlets refused to endorse the campaign saying that it would be too shocking and that it makes Saudi Arabians look cruel and heartless.

Saudi Arabia opens its doors to some of the highest numbers of expatriate workers in the region but arguably offers the least safeguards to shield them from abuse, specifically regarding rights of movement, withholding of documentation, legal reprise against abusive sponsors, and protection from gender-based violence committed against housemaids and other female domestic workers.

Partial Reforms Fail Migrant Domestic Workers Human Rights Watch Reports

PRESS RELEASE from Human Rights Watch:

(New York) - The reforms undertaken by Middle Eastern and Asian governments fall far short of the minimum protections needed to tackle abuses against migrant domestic workers, Human Rights Watch said today in a report released in advance of May 1, International Labor Day. Despite recent improvements, millions of Asian and African women workers remain at high risk of exploitation and violence, with little hope of redress, Human Rights Watch said.

The 26-Page Report, "Slow Reform: Protection of Migrant Domestic Workers in Asia and the Middle East," reviews conditions in eight countries with large numbers of migrant domestic workers: Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Singapore, and Malaysia. The report surveys progress in extending protection to domestic workers under labor laws, reforming immigration "sponsorship" systems that contribute to abuse, ensuring effective response by police and courts to physical and sexual violence, and allowing civil society and trade unions to organize.

"Several governments have made concrete improvements for migrant domestic workers in the past five years, but in general, reforms have been slow, incremental, and hard-fought," said Nisha Varia, women's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Jordan deserves credit for including domestic work in their labor law, but enforcement remains a big concern. Singapore has prosecuted physical abuse against domestic workers vigorously, but fails to guarantee them even one day off a week."

Several countries across the Middle East and Asia host significant numbers of migrant domestic workers, ranging from 196,000 in Singapore and 200,000 in Lebanon to approximately 660,000 in Kuwait and 1.5 million in Saudi Arabia. Migrant domestic work is an important source of employment for women from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Nepal, India, and Ethiopia. Migrant domestic workers' earnings constitute a significant proportion of the billions of dollars of remittances sent to these countries each year.

Human Rights Watch research over the past five years has shown that migrant domestic workers risk a range of abuses. Common complaints include unpaid wages, excessive working hours with no time for rest, and heavy debt burdens from exorbitant recruitment fees. Isolation in private homes and forced confinement in the workplace contribute to psychological, physical, and sexual violence, forced labor, and trafficking.

"Reforms often encounter stiff resistance both from employers used to having a domestic worker on call around the clock and labor brokers profiting handsomely off a poorly regulated system," Varia said. "Governments should make protecting these vulnerable workers a priority."

Most governments exclude domestic workers from their main labor laws, denying them protections guaranteed to other workers, such as limits to hours of work or a weekly day of rest. Only Jordan has amended its labor law to include domestic workers, guaranteeing protections such as monthly payment of salaries into a bank account, a weekly day off, paid annual and sick leave, and a maximum 10-hour workday. However, domestic workers cannot leave the workplace without permission from their employer.

The governments of Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia have all publicly announced they will amend existing labor laws or draft new legislation on domestic work. But despite years of proposals, none have adopted such reforms. Saudi Arabia's Shura Council approved an annex on domestic work to the labor law, but the cabinet has not yet approved it. Singapore's Ministry of Manpower has repeatedly rejected calls to extend labor law protections to domestic workers.

"Instead of ensuring protection under labor laws, governments have relied on creating standard employment contracts or bilateral agreements with labor-sending countries, Varia said. "Employment contracts and bilateral agreements may be better than nothing, but with weaker protections than labor laws, they effectively reinforce discrimination against domestic workers."

Immigration reforms have proceeded even more slowly than labor reforms, Human Rights Watch said. In the countries surveyed, domestic workers migrate on fixed-term visas, under which their employers double as their immigration sponsors. This system heightens the risk of abuse by giving inordinate control to employers, who can have domestic workers sent home at will or prohibit them from being hired by a new employer.

"Governments have dragged their feet on reforms to the immigration sponsorship system, which contributes to forced labor and trafficking," Varia said. "They need to move quickly to find alternatives, such as shifting sponsorship from employers to labor authorities or closely monitored employment agencies."

Human Rights Watch also examined the governments' responses to criminal abuses against domestic workers. Some governments have begun to investigate and successfully prosecute abuse against domestic workers, but numerous obstacles continue to stand in the way of such victories, Human Rights Watch found. For example, systems for filing complaints are often out of reach of domestic workers trapped in private homes and unable to speak the local language.

For cases that do reach the attention of the authorities, legal proceedings often stretch over years, while victims typically wait in overcrowded shelters, unable to work. The lengthy waits and uncertain outcomes cause many domestic workers to withdraw their complaints or negotiate financial settlements so they can return home quickly. In other cases, domestic workers who bring charges are forced to defend themselves against counter-allegations of theft, witchcraft, and adultery.

"Successful prosecutions of abusive employers and labor brokers is not only justice served but also a strong deterrent against abuse," Varia said. Governments should establish accessible ways to file complaints, expedite legal proceedings, and ensure a minimum standard of social services, such as shelter and health care, during the process."

Reforms on regulating domestic work are taking place not only at the national level, but globally. In recognition of the importance of protecting a major source of employment that has been historically neglected, members of the International Labor Organization will begin formal discussions in June to establish global labor standards for domestic work. Lebanon, Bahrain, and Jordan support legally binding standards, while Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates support a nonbinding recommendation. Singapore and Kuwait did not submit official responses.

Human Rights Watch urged governments to take the following steps to prevent and respond to abuses against migrant domestic workers:

-Extend equal labor protections in national law to domestic workers, and address unique circumstances relating to their intermittent working hours, lodging, and board;
-Improve regulation and oversight of employment agencies and fees charged to these workers by private recruitment agencies;
-Reform immigration policies so that workers' visas are not tied to individual sponsors, and so that they can change employers without the first employer's consent;
-Improve workers' access to the criminal justice system, including through confidential complaint mechanisms, prosecutions, and expansion of victim services;
-Cooperate with labor-sending countries to monitor transnational recruitment, respond to complaints of abuse, and facilitate repatriation;
-Support a binding convention on domestic work with an accompanying recommendation during the International Labour Conference in June.

Bahraini MP's Call for Suspension of Expat Employment Fees

To follow-up on a recent post presented in this blog last week on new methods the Bahraini Government is pursuing to address rising unemployment of its national population, the Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) has received backlash from Parliament demanding the suspension of monthly employment fees, according to the TradeNews Arabiaa New Source. To briefly elaborate, the LMRA recently instituted monthly employment fees totally 10 Bahrain Dinars (26 USD) for all expatriate employees to be paid by their employer. Some members of Parliament have encouraged a temporary suspension to this system, arguing that the "crippling fees" have led to the bankruptcy of several small and medium size business since the law's inception in July 2008, according to reports. The urgent proposal has been submitted to Bahrain's upper house (Shura Council) by a cross-section of MP's despite the objection of the Minsiter of State of Parliament and Shura Council Affairs, who commented that a suspension would negatively affect other schemes being carried out by the LMRA.

The submission of the proposal follows two separate demonstrations this month by businessmen in front of Bahrain's National Assembly, as well as their submission of a formal letter to His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

MP Sheikh Ali Slaman noted that small and medium-sized business owners have become victims of the improper implementation of the fee system, underscoring that the purpose of the fees is to make Bahraini citizens more attractive for employment in businesses that are already dominated by expatriate workers.

The temporary suspension would provide one year for the LMRA to properly reassess the law and assemble economic charts providing data outlining the specific businesses that should be obliged to pay employment fees.

Qatar: How The World's Wealthiest Nation Per Capita Relies on Migrant Worker Labor

In an attempt to further expand the scope of my research, I recently attended a few meetings and conferences in the State of Qatar to better assess the human rights and migrant labor issues that this majestic city-state currently faces. Qatar hosts the most dramatic demographic contradictions between its local population and the migrant worker community that it must outsource in order to accomdate its rapid and unparalleled Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Indistry. With only 350,000 Qatari citizens inhabitiing a nation that boasts the highest production and export of LNG in the world, Qatar ranks number one for the world's highest GDP per capita income and embodies a rentier welfare-state in its most basic description. However, the wealth that Qataris enjoy is at the expense of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers that are brought to the country on two-year contracts to work in nearly every sector and industry that the country has consecrated, mostly because the Qataris have no interest in working in positions that are not managerial or administrative. They hold a reputation that is even more negatively slanted than their Kuwaiti counter-parts, attributed largely to the country's massive natural resource wealth that provides a backbone for lavish lifestyles that are serviced and maintained by the hands of poor, outsourced laborers.

However, it is unfair to immediately dismiss the Qataris in their efforts to regulate and protect their migrant worker population. Higher income for Qataris has trickled down the economic latter and raised income levels for migrant workers to higher salaries than anywhere else in the region, and legitimacy of private sector employment contracts is upheld and regulated by the Ministry of Interior. Unlike other parts of the region, Qatar maintains a strict turn-over of migrant workers to prevent long-term residency and the potential to reap attractive welfare benefits. As a result, sponsors are less able to withhold wages and force their employees to stay in the country longer than the 2-year period the law allows. Although issues like withheld passports, coercive employment tactics (i.e. false contracts), and rights to change employers continue to remain crucial issues for anti-trafficking and human rights advocates, Qatar has seen rapid advancements under its labor law, with many foreseeable positive developments on the horizon.

Some of these developments have already come to fruition, and include, the abolition of the Camel Jockey industry. Previous to the Qatari Government's intervention in this regionally cultural tradition, underage children or "camel jockeys" were recruited from south Asia to participate in extremely dangers recreational races for entertainment purposes. Many were seriously injured and malnourished to keep them within race-weight standards. Now, the industry has made use of electronic jockeys instead, which has allegedly stopped the flow of the children who were previously trafficked into the country and exploited.

Another major development is the incorporation of anti-trafficking statutes under the current labor law. I will underscore that there is still no anti-trafficking law (although talk of drafting one has been reported); nevertheless, statutes exist that make use of similar language and highlight relative clauses that penalize trafficking of laborers. Qataris have even been tried, convicted, and imprisoned under these statutes-something barely seen in arguably more labor-friendly countries like Bahrain.

Like its neighbors, Qatari labor law maintains a crucial fault with regard to its domestic worker population (including housemaids, drivers, cooks and gardeners) who are not offered any legal protection under the current labor law or benefits that are awarded to private sector employees. Salries, days-off and contracts are the responsibility of the sponsor and offer considerable room for ambiguity and abuse to exploitive employers. However, in response to growing criticisms from the international communities towards Qatar and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), new interest has developed in drafting a formal labor law that will better regulate Qatar domestic worker population.

Featured on the front page of one of the country's principle English-speaking newspapers, The Peninsula, an article described the development of a new Domestic labor law being drafted by a special panel tasked with finalizing the regulation of rights and duties of domestic workers. The panel will incorporate representatives from several government agencies and will review with other GCC countries. The draft law may finally provide privileges to domestic employees, like end-of-service benefits, annual leave, and free medical care. These and other formal arrangements would have to be included in contracts between sponsors and their employees and would require endorsement by the Labor Department to be considered legally valid. The law might also regulate the functioning of manpower agencies and their role in hiring domestic workers in the country, the Peninsula reported.

And finally, the sponsorship system. Found in all countries except for Bahrain officially, but actually found in all countries of the Gulf unofficially, Qatar's sponsorship system seems to be the most archaic and limited with regard to a worker's access to mobility. As is required in Kuwait, Oman, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, a sponsor must provide consent for his employer to change to a different sponsor. In Qatar, the process is further complicated with the addition of a second party that must approve a change of employment as well-the Ministry of Interior, and it was brought to my attention that it is more often the Ministry of Interior that denies a worker the right to change his/her sponsor, the motivation from which derives from some very interesting sources. The Qatari government is known to grant shifts in sponsorship only when diplomatic relations between the expatriate's home-country and Qatar are strong. Political turbulence may often result in a denied petition for a valid change of employment slip. Additionally, the Ministry is known to turn down applicants that are seeking higher salaries from the new sponsor they wish to work for, or if the position could be filled by a Qatari citizen. Qatar, like Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait has embraced a new economic development model that "ization-izes" the national population and encourages locals to enter the job market. Limiting positions for expatriates is an effective way to open up the job market to locals but discourages the professional development of expatriates.

Qatar presents an intriguing case study for human trafficking and migrant worker issues in the Arabian Gulf. I intend to keep my attention partially focused on the peninsula as it embarks on a proactive course of action to improve its labor laws and the lives of its expatriate workforce. I am sure there will be some follow-up.

Worker Beaten by Sponsor in Front of Police

In another shocking news story out of Kuwait, the Arab Times reported last week that an Asian worker was beaten by his sponsor with an iron rod in front of a Kuwaiti police officer who stood-by and did not intervene.

The worker was trying to reach his Embassy after fleeing an allegedly abusive sponsor who had been mistreating him. In front of the Indian Embassy, the sponsor, accompanied by a policeman, began to brutally beat his employee with an iron rod in plain view of several people awaiting transaction services at the Embassy. Reports indicate that onlookers and Indian Embassy officials attempted to intervene but were deterred by the presence of the Kuwaiti police.

The worker was then handcuffed and taken to a local police station where he is reported to have entered into a "compromise" for fear of legal backlash threatened by his sponsor.

This is another example of how distinct privileges are awarded to Kuwaitis who are often exempt from legal prosecution in the face of blatant violations of national law that offers protections (albeit limited) to Kuwait's expat community.

Expatriate workers account for over 70% of Kuwait's population.

Migrant Worker Struggles in the Arab Gulf States

Below is an informative summation of migrant worker struggles in the Arab Gulf States put together by the team of Mideast Youth.org. Although not all migrant workers are subject to ill treatment in the region, many suffer unimaginable abuses and continue to be neglected under regional laws. For specific cases pulled from regional reporters, please go to www.migrant-rights.org to learn more.

Labor Reforms in Bahrain Tackle Local Unemployment Crisis

According to the Arabian Business News Source, recent reforms to Bahrain's labor market have begun to drive up the cost of employing cheap and unskilled laborers, increasing competitiveness of Bahraini citizens in the job market. This has been a topic that has been discussed since the inception of this blog and has been a pressing issue for the Bahraini Government in its efforts to expand job opportunities for Bahrainis and drive down its foreign population.

In a recent interview with Reuters News Agency, the Chief Executive of Bahrain's Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) Ali Radhi revealed the cost of employing expatriate workers is rising, and although the cost increase is not significant, it presents an upward moving trend. Recent reforms have imposed monthly 26.5 USD training fees paid by the employer for each expatriate worker brought to the island Kingdom.

Another significant reform occurred last year when Bahrain became the first Arab Gulf state to eliminate the employment sponsorship system, which LMRA officials hoped would allow workers to change sponsors without consent and encourage them to freely negotiate higher salaries with employers, making them less attractive for hire in comparison to their Bahraini counter-parts.

LMRA data shows that there has been an increasing trend in workers who have decided to change their sponsors under this new system, and that the gap in wages between locals and foreigners has decreased by 15 percent in some sectors, like construction. Radh noted that the effects of these reforms will be more significant once the current contracts of outsourced laborers expire and employers can choose between hiring locals instead of foreigners for the first time.

The next phase of labor reforms will be the implementation of an adaptable cap on foreign employment in certain sectors that will be determined by economic growth and industrial output. The employment ceilings have not been released to the public yet, but are awaiting approval by the board of the LMRA and reflect recent data collected from various industrial sectors.

Many Arab Gulf states are looking to Bahrain's economic transformation policies with envy, as they also attempt to address similar struggles of incorporating young people into the job market. Countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have embraced bottom-down reforms that have forced companies to hire locals (and sack foreigners) in the recent economic downturn.

Bahrain is also working to tackle illegal employment of foreign workers, often perpetuated by local employers who recruit them to Bahrain but allow them to pursue other employment opportunities in exchange for a portion of their salaries, which throws them into financial and legal uncertainty, as well as, a higher likelihood of trafficking.

Minimum Wage in Bahrain In the Wake of Domestic Worker Discussion

In early April the Bahraini Parliament approved an unprecedented minimum wage law for government employees and members of the Armed Forces amounting to 300 Bahraini Dinars (BD) per month (approx. 795 USD).

The Gulf Daily News Reports that the new minimum wage law will take effect January 1, 2011 and will cost the Bahraini Government 100 million Bahrain Dinars annually and will incorporate the total 1,023 government employees currently receiving a salary lower than 300 BD per month, accounting for a total of 37,000 employees eligible for the new minimum wage.

The new minimum wage law will now be ratified by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Although a significant step forward, this minimum wage affects only a small percentage of Bahrain's workforce and does not consider salaries of migrant and domestic workers.

However, it appears that new attention is being focused on establishing a minimum wage for domestic female workers following a recent move by the Filipino Government's Office of Overseas Employment Administration, which is now demanding that salaries for its overseas housemaids be increased to 400 USD per month. Bahrain's Labor Market Regulatory Authority has already responded by stating that laws issued in the Philippines will not be binding in Bahrain.

Issues of a minimum wage and days-off for female expat workers were also the primary topics at a debate and subsequent roundtable discussion for selected prominent female activists at the Bahrain National Museum in late March.

Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society (BHRWS) Women, Children and Minorities rights director Hala Ramzy Fayez said that all domestic workers should have the right to a minimum wage, weekly day of rest, be given maternity leave, and public holidays.

In a quotation from her organization's website, Ms Fayez stated that ""although on the whole, migrant workers enjoy labour rights and a good working environment, there are some sectors where some suffer from low pay, an inappropriate working environment and living conditions resulting in unpleasant experiences." She added that estimating the prevalence of abuse was difficult, given the lack of reporting mechanisms available - which in turn caused a lack of legal protection for domestic workers.

Proposed Labor Town to Rid Bahraini Neighborhoods of Migrant Workers

Recent reporting from the TradeArabia News Source revisits the Bahraini Government's interest in constructing "labor towns" for thousands of migrant workers, with the goal of eliminating the hundreds of make-shift labor camps dotted throughout the country and segregating expats from Bahraini neighborhoods.

This new proposed labor town, which plans to accommodate a 10,000 worker capacity would be established in central Bahrain's East Rifaa District on a selected vacant piece of land behind several factories and plants that are already located in the area. According to the article, the project has already been approved by the Southern Municipal Council and received the backing of surrounding Municipalities and the Minister of Agriculture.

Rifaa's Municipal Councilor and pioneer of this initiative has stated that a new labor town is a necessary mechanism to cope with the expanding expat community currently living, and negatively affecting Bahraini residents in the area. Grouping migrant workers together is argued to improve the lives of Bahraini citizens who often complain of having to live in such close proximity to make-shift labor camps within their neighborhoods. The Municipal Councilor further noted that Bahraini citizens are being forced to move from the area due to deteriorating living conditions-like sewage overhaul-and increasing incidence of crime as a result of the increasing population of migrant workers.

New accommodations are argued to improve the lives of the migrant workers living in cramped, dilapidated housing complexes.

Rifaa is not alone in its quest to rid its national population of migrant workers. Requests for labor townships from all of Bahrain's governates have been made following years of complaints from local Municipal Councils.

The Minster of Agriculture recently banned a request to enact formal legislation that would prevent migrant workers from living in residential areas alongside Bahraini citizens; however, a proposed draft law has been submitted to Parliament by the Municipal Councils that would allow landlords the right to rent property only to expats and professionals, disallowing migrant laborers and unskilled bachelors from acquiring a residence and permitting only 6 months for such individuals currently living in designated areas to vacate before being evicted.

Rifaa's Municipal Councilor is still in the process of locating the landowners of the proposed area for the labor town to approach them about acquiring the plot.

Freedom of Expression Threatened...

Excerpt taken from the Weekly Wire Publication from the Project on Middle East Democracy

Concern about Freedom of Expression in Bahrain: On Thursday, 46 human rights groups, including Freedom House and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, sent a letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressing "grave concern" about abusive campaigns carried out by Bahraini officials to harass, prosecute, and imprison journalists and political activists. To correct this pattern of abuse, the NGOs implored the UN to apply pressure on Bahrain's government to open up space for all NGOs to operate legally without fear of repercussions and to lift censorship restrictions on both websites and independent journalists and activists.

The full letter can be viewed here.

Expatriate Suicides in Bahrain Prompt Human Rights Evaluation of Migrant Workers

The recent surge in suicide attempts reported in this blog is not confined within Kuwait's borders across the Gulf region. Similar alarming numbers of expatriate worker suicide cases has prompted an investigation by local human rights activists on alleged migrant worker abuses in Bahrain.

Over 100 expatriate workers committed suicide over the last three years; 38 cases from this year alone and large numbers considering Bahrain's small population according to local human rights advocates.

A detailed report covering issues like work safety, living conditions, non-payment of salaries and even the kinds of food that migrant workers eat is expected to be released in September by a branch of the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society (BHRWS) and will cover all 100 work-related fatalities in detail.

BHRWS' Secretary-General Faisal Fulad revealed that few if any safety standards are often followed on Bahrain's construction sites and there is little regard for workers' lives. He added that even if an accident does occur, it is often "brushed under the rug."

This report offers migrant rights activists a venue to speak out against all of the injustices that contribute to the overall disparaged lives that expatriate workers face while living in Bahrain, providing insight into long-term health problems that workers suffer as a result of poor diet and bad nutrition, the unjustifiably low salaries they receive, and consequently, the dilapidated living conditions available to them.

Although Fulad commented that 50% of the report has already been completed, the remaining portions of the report will still take another four months. A conference will be organized by the BHRWS to coincide with the report's release in September.

Source: TradeNews Arabia News Source

Domestic Worker Enslavement Leads to Increasing Suicide Attempts in Kuwait

To follow-up on an earlier posting from this blog on the startling increase in suicide attempts by mirgrant workers, new data documented in the Migrant-Rights.org blog has revealed that an already dire situation continues to detioriate in Kuwait, where a migrant or domestic worker attempts or fully commits suicide every other day. This trend is emerging as a consequence of the poor and abusive working conditions that Kuwait's expatriate workers face and how many are simply unable to cope.

Migrant-Rights.org reveals that between February 19 and March 25, 2010 (35 days), 17 suicide cases were reported in Kuwait's local media; usually in just two sentences under the "crime" section and without identifiable information other than the victim's nationality. Most of the workers who commit suicide are reported to be domestic workers who simply are not offered any legal protection under Kuwait's private sector labor law, and as a result, remain completely dependent on the sponsors that employ them.

It is illegal for domestic workers to leave the employing authority held by their sponsor, presenting limited options to move freely and escape enslavement.

India's Ambassador Warns Citizens of Sponsor Exploitation in Bahrain

In a monthly gathering held at the Indian Embassy in Adliya Bahrain last week, the Indian Ambassador Dr. George Joseph discussed two critical issues that have recently affected the sizable Indian community living in Bahrain. The Indian Embassy is one of just a few that host monthly open houses to share contemporary, relevant information to its citizens in an attempt to limit worker exploitation, deportation, and abuses often resulting from strategic loopholes Bahrainis recognize in their legal system and utilize at the expense of unsuspecting expat workers.

Most relevant to the topics covered in this blog was Ambassador Joseph's second point, which took shape in more of a warning he impressed on gathering onlookers.

There has been a recent wave of cases that are presented to the Embassy where sponsors tell their employees to not show up for work and then purposely report them as runaways to Bahrain's Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) to avoid paying monthly sponsorship fees.

The Indian Ambassador encouraged his citizens to report their temporary suspension to the LMRA if it exceeds one day-off, as evidence that proves they did not attempt to flee from their sponsor.

Moreover, the Embassy is now working with a new legal consultant who focuses on these, and similar cases of worker exploitation brought to the Embassy. This is an exciting, atypical service currently unavailable to most of Bahrain's migrant worker communities. Perhaps the Indian Embassy's use of a legal consultant will provide the necessary support to more adequately address cases of worker exploitation and pave the way for other diplomatic missions in the country to offer justice in local legal disputes.

Ambassador Joseph also reminded participants that workers must refuse to work for anyone but their sponsor, because if they are caught they face deportation and blacklisting for any future job opportunities in Bahrain. Similarly, he discouraged workers from beginning jobs under new sponsorship until they legally petition to switch sponsors under Bahrain's new Mobility Law and they receive a new work visa from the LMRA.

These monthly open houses are an exciting and intelligent venue through which legal rights and pertinent information for Bahrain's expatriate communities can be shared, perhaps limiting cases of employee exploitation or even having enough influence to prevent human trafficking.

Skyscrapers Built Overnight in Bahrain

It appears that pioneering initiatives led by the Bahraini Government to protect its private sector workforce, including the implementation of new working hour regulations and promoting the responsible safeguards that one would expect to see in a country that boasts a "Business Friendly" mantra have had limited effect. This video shot by me near Bahrain's Exhibition Road demonstrates that the national capital Manama is truly a city that never sleeps.

And how can it, when construction workers are forced to work late into the evening in order to finish a project in record time?

It is certainly easier to understand how skyscrapers are literally "built overnight" by the labor of exploited workers.

Bahrain's New Private Sector Labor Law Falls Short of Expectations

After months of filibustering and internal negotiations over anticipated amendments to Bahrain's private sector labor, Bahrain's Upper House, the Shura Council finally reached an agreement approving a new private sector law that will award compensation to employees if their job contracts are terminated. The key article that allows sacked employees compensation from their employers was reinstated last week after previously being rejected by the Council, stating that it was a legal loophole that allotted too much financial responsibility to the employer. Now, employers will be held accountable for compensation packages of their sacked employees if the company completely or even partially fails, or enters a period of limited activity or production.

However, employees under open contracts are only able to demand three months of their salary, or the remaining salaries owed to them in timed contracts as compensation.

Many believe that this arrangement is "catastrophic," unfair and offers insufficient coverage to employees on open contracts, many of whom are the most vulnerable and would benefit most from legal safeguards to protect and award them for untimely termination.

The new law also remitted a previously rejected article offering widows compensation for days of mourning prescribed under Islamic Law. When the article was originally rejected a few weeks ago, the Shura Councilors agreed that the financial cost for the employer would be huge. Negotiations over the required 4 months and 10 days required in Islamic Shari'a Law revealed some disagreements amongst Council members who demanded the time be shortened to just 1 month. In the end, lobbyers in favor of religious tradition prevailed and the amendment was finalized.

The approved law will now be referred to Parliament before it is fully implemented.

Source: TradeNews Arabia

Migrant Workers Melt Like Candles to Give Light to Their Families Back Home

Recent shocking statements made by Chairman K V Shamsudeen of the Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust (PBWT) divulged that only five percent of Indian expatriates living in Bahrain would lead a comfortable lifestyle from their earnings if they were forced to return home. These findings reflect the extravagant lifestyles their families are creating with the hard-earned remittances received from their migrant worker relatives and a disregard for responsible saving habits. The Sharjah-based representative said that this problem occurred across other national groups as well, including Filipinos, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Pakistanis.

The TradeArabia News Source reported that this startling percentage of low and middle income migrant workers from India who have worked in the Gulf States for decades, are returning home with little or no resources to further support their families.

The survey from which this information was derived was conducted by the PBWT and included 10,100 migrant workers from India living in the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries, including 1,500 from Bahrain who admitted that their sacrifices and self-deprivation in exchange for the well-being of their families back home yielded little long-term benefit.

Shamsudeen stated that only 2% of Indian families were responsibly saving portions of the remittances they receive, and encouraged migrant workers to discuss the harsh and often unforgiving conditions they face while living in the Gulf with their families, as a way to encourage more conservative spending habits, explore wiser investment opportunities, and inspire greater appreciation for the money they receive, especially given the precarious nature of their jobs vis a vis the recent global economic downturn. Shamsudeen eloquently explained that saving in small drops will eventually make an ocean.

80% of workers surveyed were married, but only 10% had their families living with them in the Gulf.

To add insult to injury, migrant workers are often ignored by their families if they do not receive remittances. Families in India were said to not appreciate the sacrifices that their spouses/relatives make while trying to support them; many often enjoy only one meal a day and live in deplorable conditions.

5 Million "Non-Resident Indians" as they are called live and work in the GCC countries, 60% of whom come from the Kerala region in southern India.

This article is particularly au courant given recent initiatives taken by regional governments to forcibly deport migrant workers living in the GCC countries illegally, including Bahrain. Knowing that the hard work invested by these workers will yield nothing once they return home is heart-wrenching.

Kuwait's New Labor Law Now Active

Kuwait's new labor law became official on February 21 following its publication in the government-owned Kuwait Gazette Al Kuwait Al Youm, demonstrating a significant step forward to protect expatriate workers in the private sector, and paving the way for new legislation to address the rights of domestic workers.

The new law includes updated provisions that address issues of salaries, working hours, public holidays, paid leave, sick leave and suitable end of service payments, was approved by the National Assembly in 2009 and approved by His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of Kuwait for endorsement.

Many remain skeptical as to how these new provisions will profoundly impact or improve condtions in the private sector and question whether the new law will actually be implemented. According to an anonymous journalist interviewed by the Kuwait Times, employers can still easily devise schemes to puncture loopholes in the new law and avoid paying indemnities or other forms of remuneration payable to workers. For example, an employer can transfer workers to a different division within the company or simply fire them and find new workers to avoid paying salaries.

For detailed coverage of the new labor law, click here to be taken to the Arab Times Online.

Release of 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

"These reports are an essential tool – for activists who courageously struggle to protect rights in communities around the world; for journalists and scholars who document rights violations and who report on the work of those who champion the vulnerable; and for governments, including our own, as they work to craft strategies to encourage protection of human rights of more individuals in more places."
-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, March 2010

Near East/North Africa 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Kuwait's Minister of Social Development Reveals Domestic Worker Law Will be Issued in May 2010

It appears that new legislation to protect Kuwait's 600,000 domestic workers is now in the works following last month's official publication of an updated labor law for expatriate workers in the private sector, following months of parliamentary discussions and deliberations. Kuwait's Minister of Social Development, Mohammad al-Afassi revealed that his ministry (officially responsible for the legal rights of domestic workers) would be issuing a new law as early as this coming May. A new interest in passing legislation that addresses Kuwait's domestic labor force, affecting housemaids, drivers and landscapers follows international pressures, NGO lobbying, and heightened criticism over grievances that were not addressed in the new private sector labor law. Up until February of 2010, Kuwait's labor law had not been updated in over 45 years.

The Kuwait Times profiled several interviews with domestic housemaids, asking them what they believed would be the most important clauses the new labor law should include. One worker insisted that matters dealing with domestic workers should be addressed by civilian authorities, and not the "scary and unfriendly" uniformed representatives of the Ministry of Interior. Two other housemaids highlighted the need for one day off during the workweek. They stated that they had been working for their current employers for 5 years and were only allowed one day off a year under their current arrangement! An extension of this request is the establishment of a work-day and legal working hours.

The vulnerability of domestic workers and the lack of freedom they awarded under the current laws has been exposed recently with heightened statistics on suicide rates in the country. There is currently no option for employees to switch employers without consent and low or even non-existent wages in exchange for their work make it impossible for most to repay the debts they owe for their work visas.

Meanwhile, one Kuwaiti official has suggested reducing the number of domestic workers who are allowed to enter Kuwait and shortening the current validity periods of worker visas to shift current demographic ratios and potentially prevent human trafficking.

LMRA Stats on Migrant Worker Motivation

According to a survey done by Bahrain's Labor Market Regulatory Agency (profiled in the Trade Arabia News Source), 70 percent of migrant workers (mostly from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) borrowed money or sold property in order to cover their expenses to travel and secure a job in Bahrain. Jobs in the Gulf are said to hold higher prestige and greater respect for workers from the Asian sub-continent, driving many to exceed their means to find jobs there, regardless of the consequences.

In the same survey it was revealed that:
30% of workers interviewed believed that their dreams had been fulfilled,
47% of workers interviewed believed that their sacrifices were costly, but worthy,
and 23% of workers interviewed believed that the benefits of taking-up employment in the Gulf were illusions

Not surprisingly, 68% of the workers indicated that low wages in their countries of origin was the motivating factor for seeking employment in the Gulf, where higher salaries are often forwarded as remittances for families back home.

89% were unaware of regulations or procedures related to their recruitment, and 90% had no knowledge of Bahrain's residence or work permit requirements.

It's clear that stronger ties between source and destination countries, as well as greater access to information services and orientation programs for new-arrivals would dramatically drive these figures down and promote safeguards against exploitation.

Sponsors Who Withhold Passports Will Be Considered Human Traffickers in Bahrain

India's Ambassador to Bahrain, Dr. George Joseph stated last week that sponsors who fail to return the passports of their former employees within 30 days will be considered human traffickers; the Ambassador was quoting an undisclosed senior Bahraini official who attended an open house at the Indian Embassy in Adliya.

According to recent reforms under Bahrain's labor law, workers are given a grace period of 30 days without a valid visa to find a new sponsor. in order to apply for a new work visa under new employment sponsorship, the worker is understandably required to present his or her passport to appropriate facilitators. Ambassador Joseph commented that employers are now beginning to cancel the work visas of their employees but refuse to return passports within the required 30-day period, preventing them from applying for different jobs.

This is an important development since no Bahraini national has been prosecuted for trafficking charges since the Anti-Trafficking Law's inception over two years ago. The new option in Bahrain for workers to change employers is another step towards addressing the rampant injustices of the former sponsorship system that is still common-place throughout the region, and presents new opportunities to identify perpetrators of human trafficking and may prevent further exploitation of migrant workers.

Bahrain's Minister of Labor Speaks on Sources of Current GCC Unemployment Levels

The Bahraini Minister of Labor, Dr. Majeed bin Mohsen al Alawi submitted a valuable lecture at the 15th Annual Conference of the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) on rising unemployment in the GCC Countries; a battle whose source he argues, traces back to the initial phases of development following the independence and subsequent economic boom as a result of exceptional natural resource wealth in the region; a blessing incompatible with small local populations.

"The basic problem with the Gulf countries is that they have laid down, with the beginning of the oil boom in the 1970s, the foundations of a process of development whose target is not all the citizens of the region. This has led to recruiting 14 million workers from abroad to fill essential roles...I reiterate that the essence of the problem of unemployment in the Gulf is the model of development. How can we conceive of the presence of 14 million jobs occupied by foreigners while we have more than a million unemployed Gulf citizens? I refer here to the figures that express this imbalance; these include the fact that 80 percent of the jobs in the Gulf are occupied by an unskilled and semi-skilled workforce. While the construction sector represents 8 percent of GDP in the UAE, it employs 40 percent of the total workforce."

Dr. al Alawi also spoke directly about Bahrain's historically high unemployment rate which has recently been "controlled" and driven down to 4% partly thanks to the Kingdom's regionally unique insurance fund for unemployment that provides safeguards for the unemployed and enhances their ability to enter the workforce by offering training and entry-level education in a variety of fields.

Trafficking in Persons 2009 Interim Assessment - Bahrain

Below is a fairly bleak review of Bahrain's human trafficking prevention, protection and persecution efforts during the 2009 reporting period. Although this assessment presents obstacles that the Bahraini government continues to face, I hope that this data will be presented in the official report within a contextualizes these current conditions and realities, and offers insight into the achievements that Bahrain has reached over the last year as well. Although they currently do not address domestic workers, glossing over "reforms" that enable labor mobility is a huge milestone for any country in the Persian Gulf and should be viewed as a springboard for further progress, rather than a perceived half-hearted effort to perpetuate limited freedoms for domestic workers. We see baby steps in Bahrain, but at least they are steps forward.

Unfortunately, we have not seen any new prosecutions under Bahrain's anti-trafficking law; however, victims of crimes that are certainly linked to trafficking have sought and gained justice. Trafficked victims who suffer abuse and withheld wages can petition for legal intervention and gain reprise from perpetrators of trafficking-related crimes. I underscore that it is very difficult to pinpoint cases of trafficking anywhere, and as this unprecedented and evolving law is taking shape in Bahrain (remember, essentially the only active anti-trafficking law in the Persian Gulf), cases stemming from trafficking will be clarified and hopefully be easily identifiable in the near future.

From the introductory text accompanying this report on the U.S. Department of State website:

"In most cases, the Interim Assessment is intended to serve as a tool by which to gauge the anti-trafficking progress of countries that may be in danger of slipping a tier in the upcoming June 2010 TIP Report and to give them guidance on how to avoid a Tier 3 ranking. It is a tightly focused progress report, assessing the concrete actions a government has taken to address the key deficiencies highlighted in the June 2009 TIP Report. The Interim Assessment covers actions undertaken between the beginning of May – the cutoff for data covered in the June TIP Report – and November. Readers are requested to refer to the annual TIP Report for an analysis of large-scale efforts and a description of the trafficking problem in each particular country or territory."

The Government of Bahrain has made limited progress since the release of the 2009 TIP Report. Bahrain has not initiated new prosecutions under its 2008 anti-trafficking law. The Bahraini government indicated that there have been a number of prosecutions under separate non-trafficking statutes that could be related to trafficking, including life sentences imposed on two Bahraini citizens convicted of murdering their domestic workers.

The majority of potential trafficking victims continue to be prosecuted for prostitution or immigration violations and quickly deported, although in the single application of Bahrain's anti-trafficking law in December 2008, some victims who were identified were not prosecuted and were referred to protective services. There remains no formalized procedure for identifying potential trafficking victims. The Bahraini government continues to refer suspected victims (nearly all women) on an ad hoc basis to protective services; they have not yet implemented a formal referral process.

Bahrain, in August 2009, implemented reforms designed to enable labor mobility for expatriate workers. These reforms do not cover Bahrain's approximately 70,000 migrant domestic workers – the group that is most vulnerable to trafficking. The parliament is considering draft legislation, however, that would include domestic servants in the 1976 Labor Law, giving them the same protections now afforded to other expatriate workers.

400 Workers Demand Unpaid Wages from Korean Construction Company

400 workers contracted under the Korean Construction Company Sungwon have lodged an official complaint to the Bahraini Government demanding three months of unpaid wages. The workers from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Vietnam were contracted for a 41 million dinar (approximately 109.7 million USD), 33-month long project to construct a fly-over causeway in Bahrain's eastern Isa Town District. The workers claim that they have not been paid since November and revealed that they have been sitting idle without work in their labor camp since the middle of January. Along with their unpaid wages, the workers demanded plane tickets to their home countries but indicated they would be happy to transfer to another company in Bahrain if given the option.

If You Refuse Carrots, Our Sticks Are Waiting

To follow my last post on the Bahraini Government-sponsored "Easy Exit Strategy" for illegal workers, this article from Dubai-based Maktoob Business sheds equally valuable light on the alternative approach that is being employed by the Ministry of Labor to facilitate the deportation of illegal workers who choose to stay. The Ministry of Labor has publicly stated that it plans to deport 20,000 illegal workers (approximately half of the estimated 41,000 living in Bahrain) through new initiatives that will drive vendors off the streets and detain workers that do not hold appropriate work visas or residency permits.

According to a senior member of Bahrain's Ministry of Labor,

"Tackling illegal workers in Bahrain is a national duty to protect the country's national economy and security. There are many negative repercussions from the presence of massive numbers of illegal foreigners on all aspects and we therefore need to eradicate this dangerous phenomenon through joint action with all ministries."

Now that incentives have been presented to illegal workers under a newly announced period of amnesty (see below), workers who refuse to turn themselves in voluntarily will face an unforgiving and radical alternative.

Amnesty Offered to Illegal Workers Under Bahrain's "Easy Exit Strategy" Campaign

In a subsequent development following a previous posting on this blog and information stemming from local news sources in Bahrain, the Kingdom's Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) in cooperation with the General Directorate for Nationality, Passport and Residence, and several local embassies and government ministries has offered amnesty to illegal workers in Bahrain who have overstayed their visas or failed to apply for extensions. Illegal workers will not face prosecution as a result of their illegal status in the kingdom but will be required to pay a fine that will be determined by the LMRA and immigration authorities and will reflect the length of time they have overstayed. Any worker involved in pending court cases will not be considered for deportation. Illegal residents are being encouraged to approach their embassies for assistance in returning home and are reminded of the benefits this temporary immunity from legal prosecution and fast-tracked paperwork processing for their deportation present. Local embassies are also being encouraged to forward lists with specific names of illegal workers to help the Bahraini Government facilitate the campaign. In an article from the TradeArabia News Service, quoted officials from the Indian, Pakistani, and Filipino Embassies underscored the positives associated with this initiative, noting that illegal workers should make best use of this chance to leave Bahrain without being arrested. Embassy involvement in this campaign may encourage more workers to step forward, since many are reluctant to deal with local Bahraini authorities for fear of being arrested by immigration when returning to their countries of origin.

No reliable figures are currently available on the population of Bahrain's illegal workers; however, the TradeArabia News Service cites figures released in early February 2010 by the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions documenting around 46,000 runaways - approximately 10% of the entire workforce.

This "Easy Exit Strategy" to rid Bahrain of illegal workers immediately follows the release of official figures by the LMRA last week stating that for the first time in its history, Bahrain's expat population outnumbers national citizens at a 51.4% majority, and official economic data indicating that employment opportunities for Bahrainis are declining, attributed partly to its endless supply of cheap labor outsourced from abroad.

Two key questions must be asked in response to this campaign. First: Does this new strategy allow the voluntary deportation of illegal workers who remain indebted to an employer under previous contracts? If workers are forced to remain in Bahrain until their debts have been repaid, they are being trafficking and held against their will. If they are given no flexibility to escape the debt or find other means of legal employment to pay back the debt, they risk being arrested when they attempt to secure another job without a legal work visa. Second: What happens if illegal workers are unable to pay their determined "exit fine" if they utilize this "easy exit strategy?" I imagine that much of this burden will fall on the local embassies; however, it is an important point that needs to be considered given the minimal incomes that most migrant workers earn legally-incomes for illegals are bound to be even less given the precarious nature of their status and the leverage employers have (and use) to threaten workers with their illegal status.

Nearly 60,000 workers were voluntarily deported or became legalized in an earlier 5 month campaign organized by the Bahraini Government which ran until January 31 of 2008, coincidentally in the immediate wake of Bahrain's Anti-Trafficking Law; second in the region behind the United Arab Emirates.

Bahrain Jobs Geared Towards Expats

A recent article released by the Gulf Daily News included precise figures showing a rise in the unemployment of Bahraini citizens. In the Kingdom's Labor Market Regulatory Authority's (LMRA) final report of 2009, data indicates that Bahrainis have felt the effects of diminishing job numbers in the national market, since employment percentages remained relatively consistent throughout the reporting period. While simultaneously, the number of foreign workers increased by 6 percent, showing a general increase in employment opportunities - just not geared towards Bahrainis, which once again highlights the unique conditions Bahrain's labor market hosts with the atypical inclusion of its local population in the workforce.

Bahrainis earned an average basic salary of 630 Bahraini Dinars (BD) per month (approximately 1,671 USD) in 2009; a wage that is considerably higher than the average 202 BD (approximately 535 USD) earned by expats. It is obvious that employers would look to Bahrain's endless supply of cheap labor when recruiting employees, assuming the workers are qualified for the position and willing to accept a third of the pay expected by Bahrainis.

The report also shows the Bahraini Government's recent interest in limiting the distribution of work visas to migrant workers, perhaps in a move to revamp its labor market and offer new job opportunities to Bahrainis. However,the majority of work visas offered jobs in the construction industry that certainly do not interest Bahrainis. Low wages, uncomfortable work conditions, long hours and a general lack of respect for jobs centered around manual labor shared by many in the region encourage employers to continue outsourcing cheaper labor, directly preventing local participation in the job market.

Sources of Human Trafficking: Tracing Back to the Source

It is too easy for anti-trafficking advocates to attribute blame to host countries after victims of trafficking step forward and reveal the crime that has been committed against them. Of course, it is clear that facilitators of this crime do operate in countries that continue to request labor, and too often they are held unaccountable for their crimes due to the fact that they are citizens of those countries and protected by biased laws. However, attention should also be drawn to what we refer to as "source" countries and the recruitment agencies that are responsible for hiring migrant and domestic workers under false and coercive contracts and directly contribute to a cycle that has resulted in the modern-day enslavement of 27 million men, women and children throughout the world.

Tracing the problem back to its source:
The financial cut that these agencies make parallels with the number of heads they can process and provide to needy companies (phony or not) thousands of miles away, limiting any accountability and their direct involvement almost by default, and results in a certain dollar/rupee/dinar prize. Individuals from countries sprawling across South and Southeast Asia often come from poor, rural communities, are uneducated, and seek out the myths of prosperity and foreseeable remittances for their families that are highlighted by despicable staff members working in local recruitment agencies. As a result of their limited eduction and the justifiable, but undeserved trust they place in their fellow countrymen, migrant and domestic workers are easily manipulated into contracts that offer few details of the type of employment to which they are assigned.

Information pertaining to accommodations, rights to travel, vacation periods, salaries and the rights (or lack of) they are guaranteed under local law can be falsified or may even be unavailable and deferred to the host country's employer or sponsor to divulge upon arrival in-country. Sometimes these contracts are not even available in the worker's own language, and more often than not, the worker is not even able to read. Recruitment agencies are the source for victims of sex trafficking, and the trafficking of underage children, given their ability to either falsify official documents like passports or birth certificates, or promise employment for women or children in legitimate companies that do not really exist - forcing them into the sex industry.

Efforts to regulate the activities of recruitment agencies are being exerted by countries like India, but they lack the funding and means to provide adequate protections to the thousands of workers looking to create a livelihood overseas each year. Similarly, initiatives like orientations for newly arrived workers and workshops providing information on their legal rights and local labor law are being led by some of the Gulf countries. These orientations are essential to providing much needed information to vulnerable and naive workers expecting new opportunities, rather than the nightmare that many actually face.

Sources of Human Trafficking: Free Visas Perpetuate Modern-Day Slavery

There are three predominant sources of human trafficking in Kuwait according to local experts. These three sources are also commonplace across the Persian Gulf region and result from a pervasive lack in adequate legal mechanisms or appropriate safeguards to protect contracted and domestic workers, most often after they have arrived in the region, and in some cases, before they leave their home countries.

This is the first of three posts that will explain the common sources of human trafficking.

Both Kuwait and Bahrain recognized that trafficking occurs in their respective countries and that its definition is not limited solely to prostitution, which is prominent in both countries but considerably more widespread in Bahrain. The Kingdom's anti-trafficking law passed in January of 2008 was the second in the Persian Gulf region (behind the UAE) and has laid a new precedent for many of the current promulgating labor reforms we see being negotiated today. However, as is the case in Kuwait, there is no legal jurisdiction under the labor law that addresses the rights of domestic workers, including individuals working as: maids, drivers, gardeners, butlers etc. Although trafficking certainly affects workers in professions beyond the home, these groups are becoming the targets of anti-trafficking advocates, because despite any advancements in respective national labor laws, these groups remain vulnerable and unprotected from traffickers operating either out of their countries of origin, or in the countries to which they have been outsourced.

A "free visa" is the cornerstone of modern-day slavery
The most common form of labor trafficking occurs when contracted workers are employed under the auspices of a fraudulent company, whose "executive" (employer) has successfully been able to illegally establish the phony company through appropriate legal channels within the country of operation, and as a result, receive approval from the host country government to obtain associated visa privileges for the requested number of workers, sometimes numbering in the hundreds. These visas are provided to the company's employer free of charge by the host government and offer the employer an opportunity to receive money from his/her recruited workers by charging them a fee (usually around 5,000 USD in both countries) for the privilege of holding a legal visa, presenting no financial burden to the employer. For this reason, they are referred to as "free visas." The fee for the visa is automatically incurred as a debt under the worker's contract. The worker's passport, legal documents and rights to movement are collected as collateral and are not returned until the visa debt is paid. Many are surprised to learn however, that following their arrival and initial dealings with their new employer, it becomes apparent that the company does not exist, leaving them stranded without any means to work, generate income, and repay their debt. It is also impossible for them to legally register to work for a new employer, since their initial debt has not yet been repaid. The law in Kuwait does not allow a contract to be terminated if a debt is still owed, and while this law also applies in Bahrain, workers have legal precedent to change employers if they are not being paid by "rogue" firms.

This tragedy equates to modern-day slavery in the purest form, and its practice has become all too common in this area of the world. Further complicating the challenges to preventing perpetrators from conducting these illegal activities is the fact that many free visas are linked to prominent business and political members of these national communities, limiting government interest, or even ability to influence their behavior.

I came across an interesting article last month from Gulf Daily News that provided details of an interview with a Bahraini citizen who was caught selling free visas over the internet to interested buyers. Despite the legal ramifications of his behavior, he also openly described the nature of the contract. As described above, the citizen explains that he does not have an actual company, just the required commercial registration with associated visas to sell. Worth reading if you are interested in an inside account to this money making scheme.

Bahrain Employment Visas for Sale

Kuwait's New Labor Law Neglects 1/3 of its Population

I recently returned from a short research trip to Kuwait last week, where I met with an expert and active advocate on migrant labor rights and Kuwait’s new labor law, which was officially passed at the end of 2009, marking a new, significant, and uncomfortably overdue step forward taken by the Kuwaiti Government. Shockingly, no reforms were made to the country’s previous archaic and historic labor law in over 45 years.

The most significant difference seen in Kuwait’s labor law when compared to Bahrain’s recent labor reforms stems from a fundamental division of expatriate worker groups and their associated legal entitlements. To elaborate, different laws are applicable to Kuwaitis, all expatriates excluding domestic workers and (as a result) domestic workers. Previously, the country’s racially discriminate labor law tended to only favor Kuwaiti employers/sponsors and neglected the rights of the majority of Kuwait’s workforce outsourced from abroad.

The amended labor law of 2009 now offers several new achievements for Kuwaiti citizens and expatriate workers living in Kuwait, granting (amongst other things) more public holidays, paid annual leave, and an increase in termination notification timelines regardless of nationality. Despite these highly anticipated gains, housemaids and domestic drivers are absent from this law’s jurisdiction, and even today, despite encouragement from local enthusiasts and an indication that such a law is forthcoming, there is still no legislation that addresses the rights of these domestic workers in private homes. Kuwait’s new labor law has laid the groundwork for an anticipated law who’s jurisdiction will fall under the Ministry of Interior, given the sensitivity of addressing legal disputes that emerge in the privacy of the homes of Kuwaiti citizens, and many are hopeful that this law will be presented in Parliament within the next six months, hopefully ending the perpetual cycles of abuse and illegal withholding of wages and documentation that leave a total of 800,000 housemaids vulnerable to coercion. I will underscore that there are 800,000 maids working in Kuwait within a total population that is just under three million.

Kuwait is one of several countries that I will be visiting within the region as I incorporate comparative analysis research into my overall project on migrant labor across the peninsula. Kuwait, in comparison with Bahrain is lagging severely in responsibly accommodating its expatriate population, which currently amounts to over 65% of the country’s total population. A renewed focus on its previously dormant labor law demonstrates the Kuwaiti Government’s interest in reform; however, 45 years of neglect indicate that continued reform will be an arduous process that will require expanded legislation to better address vulnerable contracted and domestic workers that are excluded from current jurisdiction, a legal mechanism to confront perpetrators of human trafficking, and the abolishment of Kuwait’s sponsorship system.

An expanded explanation of the sources of Kuwait’s human trafficking problem and ways the government is responding to follow.

LMRA's Response to Unprecedented Population Figures: Bahrainis Now a Minority

According to official government figures released by Bahrain's Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) this week, Bahrain's total expatriate population amounts to 568,790 or 51.4 percent of the country's population. Although now in recent decline, for the first time in Bahrain's history its foreign population exceeds that of Bahrainis.

In response, the LMRA has requested assistance from local embassies and consulates in deporting illegal workers who have violated the terms of their work visas, do not possess appropriate documentation, or have exceeded their allotted time to stay in Bahrain as a way to reestablish a Bahraini majority. Diplomatic representatives of the following targeted national groups are working with various branches of the Bahraini Government to limit numbers of their illegal workers: India, Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordon, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Tunisia, Bangladesh, The Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, Iran, Germany, Japan and Malaysia.

Despite the positive role that these diplomatic missions can play by providing orientations to incoming workers and promoting awareness among their citizens to comply with visa regulations and to leave Bahrain when their residence or work permits expire, diplomatic mission representatives responded by underscoring the difficulties they face when reaching out to their citizens staying illegally in Bahrain, especially since illegals would obviously tend to stay away from diplomatic missions for fear of deportation. Others noted that their priorities are to ensure the security of their citizens (many of whom risk deportation for running away from abusive sponsors) before assisting the GKB with their immediate deportation.

While deporting workers who can no longer present appropriate documentation to stay in Bahrain is a necessary measure to protect its dwindling majority in national citizenship, the government should not overlook the reason why many of these workers lack the documentation as well. Sponsors are still known to seize required visas and associated documentation from their workers until their visa debts are repaid, making them "illegal" by default if they try to switch employers or escape abuse.

Although this system of sponsorship has been formally suspended in Bahrain, there is still limited regulation of employer-worker relations, especially in private homes.

Is Bahrain's New Labor Law Actually a Step Backward?

As I delve deeper and deeper into my research here in Bahrain, I have to admit that i am amazed how every day I come across a new paradigm that uniquely influences promulgating labor legislation currently floating between parliament and the Shura Council (upper house).

Most recently, the Shura Council blocked another article of a proposed new labor law that would provide improved conditions for workers in Bahrain's private sector and increase leave earnings. However, the basis for this particular kick-back speaks to the larger issue of Bahrain's indiscriminate private sector and the fact that expatriate workers would be entitled to these new provisions along with national citizens. Most would champion this nuanced obstacle seen in most countries throughout the Gulf. However, it is becoming clear that non-discrimination is actually stalling necessary moves forward that could drastically improve the lives of Bahrainis in the workforce.

Originally, MP's in Parliament believed that this new law would also pave the way for the establishment of a national minimum wage for Bahrainis; a cause that was abandoned after realizing that this standard would also have to apply to expats. And earlier this year, the Shura Council rejected other articles to the labor law that would increase time off for working mothers, and require employers to pay their own fees if they were taken to court for malice.

So the question of whether this legal distinction absent with regard to Bahrain's private sector is an example of progress or indifference remains as parliament faces renewed deadlock. One could argue that more successful approaches to labor legislation would be to specifically treat Bahraini citizens and expatriate workers as separate groups under the law, raising the risk however that expatriates would remain vulnerable and be offered limited support and protection.

Bahrain is unique in a region where social welfare provides ample income to citizens of Gulf countries like Kuwait and Qatar and where labor law does not pertain equally to citizens and expatriates. Bahrainis maintain a strong presence in the private sector workforce and are no longer predisposed to different provisions under Bahrain's new labor law, which officially ended the sponsorship system in 2009.