RIYADH, 31 May 2006 — The plight of Asian migrant workers in the Gulf is often written about in the international and some local media in the region so much so that two Dubai-based English dailies have generated an interesting debate over whether the workers should work for eight hours continuously on hot summer days or they be given an option to work in two shifts — morning and late evening. Some have advocated the only night-shift working hours to avoid the scorching desert sun.
Whatever the viewpoint, the jobs in Gulf Cooperation Council countries are something, which the labor from Asian Subcontinent looks forward to. Among the Asians, the presence of Indian labor is overwhelming. In 1980s, it was the Gulf oil boom and now it is the construction boom that is drawing large number of blue-collar migration from India.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been attracting a large Indian work force for last two years. UAE, where some of the world’s biggest development projects are shaping up takes the cake. Saudi Arabia comes second as construction activity in the country both at private and governmental level is in full swing. Notwithstanding this attraction for what is popularly known as “petro-dollar” in India, there is a concern over the way its labor is treated.
In fact, the Indian workers are totally different in the GCC compared to those Indians who have found their moorings in countries such as the USA, Canada, the UK, the rest of the Europe and Australia.
Thanks to their skilled jobs, higher educational qualifications and business acumen, Indian immigrants in the West enjoy better status and treatment from both the host and their “home country”.
Unlike their vociferous counterparts in the West, the GCC workers are voiceless and poor. After all, they earn, just around $300 per month. Their long list of woes includes ill treatment from employers, nonpayment of salaries and poor living conditions.
Their complaints seem to pile up every passing month and alarmed by this rising trend, the Indian government’s decision to work toward bilateral labor relations agreement between India and the Gulf countries should cheer up the Gulf based nonresident Indians (NRIs).
The spurt in Indian emigration is also due to the streamlined migration procedures. Apart from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the Indian workers find opportunities in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.
The rise in demand for manpower in the Gulf includes the sectors such as construction, oil and gas, petroleum and maintenance.
Unfortunately, this immigrant manpower growth also means rise in human rights violations, breach of employment contracts and large scale manipulation of working conditions.
Figures from the Protector of Emigrants’ Office in India indicate that migration of unskilled and semi-skilled workers has been steadily increasing since 2000, after a steep fall in the post-Gulf War recession-ridden late 1990s.
Last year, a record 550,000 workers got an emigration clearance stamp on their passport, the highest in over two decades. These are official figures and in reality workers come through different channels. The figures bases on emigration stamp are at best indicative.
Whatever their number, and whether they work in day or night-shift in summer, what these poor and hapless workers need is support from the governments.
