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.
Showing posts with label Sponsorship System. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sponsorship System. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
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.
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.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
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.
(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.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
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.
Monday, March 29, 2010
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.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
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.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, March 5, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, February 19, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
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
Gulf Daily News » Local News » Surge in suicides sparks action call
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