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.

Bachelors Accused of Created Ghettos

Although the letter submitted to Bahrain's Gulf Daily News below is not the most sensitively worded account of the lives of a community of Bahrain's migrant workers living in the capital Manama, it is becoming apparent that the insecure and unsanitary conditions these workers face are becoming too discomforting for Bahraini citizens who simply have to live around them. It is clear that the author of this piece is looking for greater regulations to be imposed on the alleged behavior of these bachelors, but there also appears to be an underlying cry for improvements to their overall living conditions. As mentioned in an earlier post, the Bahraini Government intends to relocate these bachelor communities to newly constructed "labor cities," far from public view.

The place is full of dirt and the sewerage system leaks. It appears that cleanliness or hygiene is not applicable here

Migrant Bachelors "Creating a Ghetto" in Manama

Alarming Death Figures on Bahraini Job Worksites

Alarming on-the-job death numbers was the issue of focus during a recent conference organized collaboratively by Bahrain's Ministry of Labor, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and members of Bahrain's business community. Over the last three years, 107 work-related accidents were documented, 38 of which resulted in worker fatalities. Participants unanimously agreed that it was their responsibility to improve safety standards for Bahrain's laborers through new and improved legislation.

Bahrain has already taken steps to prevent job-related accidents by limiting working hours during the months of July and August, so workers can avoid risky exposure to medical problems during the intense summer heat.

Gulf Daily News: Worksite Death Figures "Alarming"

Bahrain to Relocate Hundreds of Thousands of its Migrant Workers to "Labor Cities"

Recent postings from within the online blog community, as well as, in articles published by the Gulf Daily News have brought to attention the relocation project of Bahrain's hundreds of thousands of migrant workers currently living in make shift labor cities throughout the country. These dilapidated neighborhoods hidden behind the modern-day skyline reveal a much darker side of one of the region's freest and most rapidly developing economies.

In order to afford lodging (often following extended payment delays), reported figures show that at least 10 migrant workers will share rooms in apartment complexes with cracked foundations and crumbling facades under tin roofs offering little protection from the intense elements of Bahrain's desert climate. Workers are often forced into these conditions both due to financial and social obstacles they face while living temporarily in the Gulf countries, and derive from perceived threats they present vis a vis values and morals of the citizens of Bahrain. Complaints over men walking around shirtless or nude, noise, drunkenness, harassment towards women, and the sheer abundance of young males that are not familiar with the local culture and traditions present threats to Bahrainis living in close proximity to these congested communities.

The Bahraini Government has responded to these grievances by investing in "Labor City" projects across Bahrain to help keep migrant workers "out of sight" and to "preserve the privacy of residential areas" according to the government. With reference to the Community Blog Migrant-Rights.org (click for post below), the first of these camps located in the Al Hidd district is completed and will house approximately 4,000 workers. Plans to relocate the first group of workers were set to begin in January of this year.

Bahrain to Segregate Migrant Workers

The following video takes the viewer inside a labor camp in Dubai and provides visuals for the conditions migrant workers may face while living in the Gulf.

Embassy of Bangladesh Hosts Review of New Labor Laws

Gulf Daily News » Local News » Expat labour issues are reviewed

Interesting article this week from the Gulf Daily News that shows how the Bangladeshi Embassy is trying to educate its citizens on the new labor laws that have been implemented in Bahrain in recent months. Several accounts from migrant laborers present in this article elaborate further on the common forms of mistreatment and coercive recruitment that Bangladeshis face, providing better insight to the reader on how to better foresee risks for human trafficking at its source. In an effort to pass on updated information on Bahrain's promulgating labor law and procedures and guidelines of the Labor Market Regulatory Authority, the Embassy of Bangladesh hosted one of a series of planned open houses for its citizens in Bahrain's capital.

Common complaints from these laborers were the following:
-Withheld salaries as a way to prevent the worker from changing employers or simply because the employer chooses not to pay;
-Cancelled visas that often leave the workers stranded and in debt; and
-Inaccurate job placement information from recruitment agencies in Bangladesh.

The population of Bangladeshi workers living in Bahrain has diminished considerably nearly two years after Bahraini demands to terminate the issue of work visas to Bangladeshis, following two murders of Bahraini citizens at the hands of Bangladeshi migrant workers.

Human Rights Watch Publication: 2009 a Bad Year for Migrants

2009 a Bad Year for Migrants

"Migrants form the backbone of many economies, performing the labor and services that people in their host countries depend on but won't do themselves. Instead of getting respect and the freedom and wages they are owed, they are treated as security threats, and in general, as undesirables to be pushed out of sight."

The Realities of Labor Trafficking: PSA Released by the United Nation's Office on Drugs and Crime

This is one of several Public Service Announcements released by advocacy organizations worldwide that hope to present the realities of modern-day slavery. Human trafficking occurs across all regions of the globe and affects men, women and children who may be coerced into forced labor or sex slavery. You can help by visiting the website of any of the organizations listed under "Like-Minded Partners" on this page. Many provide information on campaigns, demonstrations, and methods for reaching local leaders in your community.

Gulf Daily News: Surge in Suicides Sparks Action Call

This article presents some of the stark realities that migrant workers face throughout the Gulf. Many travel to countries like Bahrain in search of higher paying jobs than those that are available to them in their home countries. However, they may be coerced into an employment contract that carries a debt the worker must pay off to his/her employer (sponsor) under the "Kafala" or sponsorship system. In countries across the Gulf, it is common practice that an employer legally sponsors his employees and deducts a specific percentage of his worker's salary to repay the debt acquired from the supplied visa, processed documentation (including passports and immigration papers), as well as the airline ticket that the employer provides. However, these respective governments also allot national citizens a designated number of "free visas," intended for the hiring of domestic workers or in some cases, hundreds of employees if the citizen is a major stake-holder in manufacturing or commerce. These "free visas" bear no cost to the individual but provide a means through which the salary of sponsored workers can still be demanded in order for the worker to repay the debt incurred for using the "sponsor's" free visa. Bahrain has officially terminated this variation of the Kafala system, revoking the liberality with which regular citizens can control the movement of migrant workers.

Gulf Daily News » Local News » Surge in suicides sparks action call

Project Overview/Background Information

Hello Everyone,

This is my first post, of my first blog, of my first experiences in Bahrain. I arrived in-country exactly one month ago and have already gained some amazing insights into the people, the culture, the history, and my project at hand researching the treatment of migrant workers and human trafficking in Bahrain and neighboring countries. My research throughout the eight months that i will be spending in Bahrain aims to provide a holistic analysis of labor migration within the island kingdom, first by compiling research data available to the public from media, human rights groups, labor advocates, and government reports operating locally and regionally. Many of these sources have established firm leads to like-minded individuals and useful contacts that i plan to inter-face with in coming months. The goal is to produce a document that will outline in fine detail, contemporary conditions in Bahrain and suggestions for improving them, specifically looking to economic, social, legal, religious, political, and historical sub-causes that have influenced Bahrain's labor force. In doing so, I intend to answer questions like: Is the government on the right track with its revamped labor laws? Has Bahrain adequately been able to address its need for labor in a responsible manner? How does Bahrain compare to its neighbors? I believe that a final product will be extremely beneficial to the academic community and will truly bring long-needed attention to the plight of migrant and domestic workers suffered in Bahrain and the greater Persian Gulf.

I have already completed a preliminary scan of internet-based sources over the past month and have established some useful international contacts who have been extremely open to share their resources and answer my questions. I intend to provide the outcomes of my conversations with contacts following my meetings and/or dialogue with them.

Locally, I have reached-out to Bahrain's formidable, sole migrant rights advocacy organization, The Migrant Workers' Protection Society (MWPS) for a brief overview of current misconceptions of the prevention, protection, and persecution of human trafficking and its perpetrators. I was present for a meeting discussing the much-needed edits to the US Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) to be released in June 2010, given the feedback of the MWPS reps.

Annually, the United States' Department of State publishes the TIP report that categorizes every nation in the world on a scale of 1-3 (3 being the most critical rating) after assessing the three criteria above and actions taken to combat human trafficking. For 2009, Bahrain was placed on the Tier 2 Watch List, labeling it as

A country whose government does not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards but is making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with those standards AND:
a) The absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or is
significantly increasing; or
b) There is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year; or
c) The determination that a country is making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with minimum standards was based on commitments by the country to take additional future steps over the next year.

Although an improvement from a Tier 3 rating in 2008, Bahrain is still on the cusp when it comes to addressing human trafficking, and as a result there have been some significant responses by the Bahraini government, mostly with regard to its Labor Law and the commonplace "Kafala" sponsorship system found across the Persian Gulf. Look for a post explaining this system in further detail soon, and another giving an evolution of Bahraini labor law.