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.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment