BBC expose on Dubai's treatment of expat labour

More today in the international media on the human rights/slavery issue wrt expat labourers in the Middle East. [Thanks for the tip, Devil's Advocate].

The BBC's "Panorama", an inhouse investigative journalism programme, are broadcasting an expose tonight on Dubai, following a 3 month investigation into Dubai's infamous treatment of migrant labourers and their conditions.


Photo: Ben Johnson, BBC, in Dubai


See the BBC website here and here.

Highly recommended. I've copied the first story below.

Would we like the BBC to do a similar investigation here?

How many of us have actually visited the labourers' camps out in the wilds of Ghala or Ruwi? I think we would all like to hope the results would be a lot better than in Dubai... and I'm sure most would be.

But IMHO the issue of labour treatment is going to run and run... so perhaps we should make sure our house really is in order before the NGOs and the BBC switch their focus?

Migrant worker 'fixer' speaks out

Panorama reporter Ben Anderson interviews Almass Pardiwala, one of the first recruitment agents to speak out about the treatment of immigrant construction workers in Dubai.

How did you start sending workers to Dubai from India?

Initially the idea was we sent people here to look forward to a better tomorrow. They would earn more than what they were getting at home. Since their accommodation was provided they would definitely save on the rent and we thought, they would be able to send a substantial amount back home, which would help them to save something for the future, or at least their next generation. They could better themselves economically and have a better lifestyle.

When did you first start getting the impression that things were not as good for the workers as you thought they were?

When I started coming here I started talking to the workers, dealing with them, looking at the situation, I visited a few labour camps and I was appalled at the situation they were living in. That's when I realised that they are giving up their lives for a few dirhams (United Arab Emirates' currency). But human life is just not worth the few extra dirhams that they make.

Before they even arrive, they are in debt because they are charged a visa fee, could developers insist that fee is not charged? That their passports are not taken away or the workers are given the minimum wage?

Yes, of course, there are companies who could specifically mention that all the visa expenses, about 7,000 to 8,000 dirham (roughly £1600), are borne by the company themselves. That is the law. They are not legally in a position to charge any visa fees from the workers coming in.

But they do charge the workers…
Sometimes they have to mortgage their land, their house, or whatever little ornaments their family has of value. Sometimes I have cases where they've even gone on and mortgaged the utensils the house has, you know, metals, they have mortgaged even that.

What, like pots and pans and cookers?

Everything! Everything! Land which has been in their family from centuries, maybe generations and just the lure that okay we'll go abroad and we'll make a better lifestyle for ourselves. It's a dream that, very honestly is a nightmare the moment they land here.

You said these things are against the law…

All these things are against the law.

How did you first find out about this problem? You said before that you had received complaints from workers, and that they had disappeared...

After a lot of pressure I got an address of an official camp where our 80 people were there and believe me I was ashamed to call myself a human when I entered the camp. The camp was so bad, so, so bad. It was like walking into a stable where diseased animals would be put. There were 40 Indians and 40 Bangladeshis and they had three bathrooms and they had a whole line of stones outside the washrooms. I told these guys, why are you keeping these in the middle, why don't you move them aside, someone might trip over? They said no madam, these stones we've kept like this. This stone belongs to me, this stone represents so and so person. This is a queue for us to visit the washroom. We get an opportunity every three days to have a turn to have a bath. So that was the condition of the guys over there. According to law six people are supposed to be in a room, there were 12 of them 14 of them just cramped in like animals, there were no windows in the entire camp. They had no food, because they were not paid any salaries.

So how was their health?

It was terrible. I was with this guy who had his finger cut and it was full of pus and it was rotting. And I asked him why haven't you done anything? He said if I go to the doctor he wants 50 dirhams from me, I don't have five dirhams to eat, how am I going to pay the doctor 50 dirhams? There were people who didn't have shoes to wear. They had blisters on their feet that were infected and pus was just going through. Of course they were weak, they were losing weight, they had aged so terribly in the three months since they had left India. They were sure they were just going to die over here and the people back home were not even going to see them. There was this date orchard next to their camp and the gardener had a heart so at the end of the day whatever dates used to fall off the tree he would give to them and that's what they were eating when I first saw them. People don't even treat animals like this. These guys were worse than stray animals out on the street. And the authorities, this was in Ras Al Khaimah, the neighbouring emirate, knew about it - the workers had demonstrated out on the road - so the immigration authorities were aware what was going on.

How did you feel at that moment because you and the men were convinced everyone was coming here for a better life?

Shattered. A dream shattered. Or an illusion shattered at that point of time. These people were totally disillusioned and they had no hope at all. They were shouting and screaming, but nobody was willing to hear them.

At that point did you think that the situation you were in was just a one off?

I found scores of people with the same story. The only difference was that they had nobody who could put forward their story for them. They were in an unknown land, the language was unfamiliar to them, they didn't know the rules and regulations and they didn't have money or power. There was nobody who was trying to do anything for them. There were just these guys going 'shoo- come tomorrow. Nothing we can do for you'. I went to these places I realised no this is not an isolated case this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Are the workers afraid to complain?

Yes they are. The first thing the company will say is get out of my camp and where do they go then? It's not like they are going to be able to go to a guesthouse and spend a night. They are not going to be able to sleep under a banyan tree. Also their documents are in the company's hands.

So what can you do?

I've yet to come across a successful solution. The maximum you can do is get someone from the media to talk, get some articles printed and pressurise the company into solving the matter. Which I seriously feel is very unfair to the workers. They are the people responsible for building this country. They are the ones treated like shit, like slaves most of the time. I have had workers tell me that they have been horsewhipped when they tried to open their mouths or protest. Whips have actually been removed and hit on them. As far as we know slavery is extinct right?

Do you really think slavery is an accurate term?

Right now they don't call them slaves they call them employees and they give them visas but they are almost bound as slaves with almost no rights at all. Slaves were actually bought and sold, these guys are so-called employed, but what rights do they have? What rights are made available to them in any kind of a situation? I think it's zilch.

When we in the West think of Dubai...

When Westerners see Dubai they see the racecourses and fireworks over the Atlantis. Even if 10% of the money that was burnt up over the Atlantis was put up for the workers I'm sure people would sleep with a clearer conscience - if they had one.

What do you say to the argument this is just globalisation - getting people from markets where the wages are very low?

Fine but why the hell can't you pay them the wages that have been promised to them? They are not asking you to pay them the standard wages that a person in a developed country gets.

You often hear people from the West say that the accommodation looks bad to us, the salary sounds low to us, but for them it's fine, for them it's a good salary?

I would suggest you take a visit to some of the villages in India and come and have a look at them before you form an opinion on that. I don't think it is an argument unless you have actually seen both sides of the coin. I would suggest that they are behaving like ostriches with their heads in the sand. They may not have a tiled bedroom or a Jacuzzi, but it's not inhuman like this, I can bet that it's not as bad as this.

Lots of people from all over the world are investing in property here, coming here on holiday, is there anything they could do for the workers?

Just ask can I look at your labour camp? If you are going to buy one apartment your going to see it 10 times from 10 different angles. Just ask the company; can I look at your labour camp? I'm not telling you to say; I want a written statement from each of the workers to say I'm happy, just say can I have a look at your labour camp? See how they will jump then.

And what do you think their reaction would be if they were taken to an average labour camp?

If the person has a conscience I'm sure they would never ever think of buying any property out here. Those who made an effort would be appalled by conditions, they would be appalled by the inhuman treatment these people go through. They are working for 10 hours, 12 hours - then they are commuting one and a half to two hours. They are cooking in primitive conditions - whatever they can manage to cook at 2130 2200 at night when they are dog tired - whether it's hygienic, whether it's nutritious, nothing, just having something to fill their stomachs and fall asleep. Next day they get up at 0400, maybe gulp down a cup of tea. Their health is going to disintegrate. If someone from the West, maybe some kind of organisation, maybe authorities concerned pressurise the government into implementing the rules that are there in place I'm sure things will be much better and I'm sure humanity will be in a better condition for the efforts made.

Have you come across any workers who have come out here and have made a better life for themselves and their families?

Very, very few. I will not lie and say I've never come across any. There are a few companies which even though the workers have paid visa fees, at least they give them salaries and have been reasonably good. There are a few good companies but I can count them on my fingers. But yes, there have been a few, which is probably what keeps these guys going, the few success stories that they hear back in their village, they think, okay, if he did it, maybe I will be lucky enough to have the same thing happen to me.

UAE Labour Ministry believes its own PR: New law will supposedly help Emirati to get work!

In a laughable and rather Orwellian press release yesterday, Mrs. Feddah Lootah, the acting director general of the National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority (Tanmia), insisted the new law - making it even more impossible to fire Emiratis in private UAE companies - will increase Emiratis employability.

Debate over impact of Emirati job protection
February 20. 2009 9:30AM UAE / February 20. 2009 5:30AM GMT

Private-sector companies are more likely to employ Emiratis because of a new government policy that protects them from being laid off, a labour official said yesterday to counter claims to the contrary.

Feddah Lootah, the acting director general of the National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority (Tanmia), said Emiratis would feel more secure in their jobs knowing they cannot be laid off. As a result, they will “increase their productivity, performance and loyalty”. Companies will become aware of that trend and will recruit more Emiratis, she said.
...

Mrs. Feddah Lootah, the acting director general of the National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority (Tanmia), demonstrating how a protected job ensures increased performance.


Yeah, right. I'm sure everyone agrees with her that making someone unsackable makes them work harder and improves their productivity... That's why Government civil servants the world over are well known for being so hard working and productive I guess.

She clearly doesn't really understand the question, and in her reply simply emphasises that the law is the law:

...Responding to a question if Tanmia was worried if the new rule will make private companies shy away from employing Emiratis, Lootah said that “companies need to remember that there are Cabinet decisions that have enforced Emiratisation quotas and these rules must be respected and followed”. ...

It seems the comments around the UAE Business community that pointed out the obvious stupidity of the new law, in terms of actually contributing positively to the long term employment of locals in the UAE, were getting to be too much. IE:

In contrast, some business owners and analysts have described the guidelines, announced on Wednesday by the Ministry of Labour, as “counterproductive” and “inflexible”.

...
Paul Dyer, a research associate at the Dubai School of Government, who specialises in labour policy, said the new rules were “a worrisome precedent” that may serve as a disincentive to be productive.

“This kind of legislation sends strong signals to those who are not motivated from within, that they do not have to put much effort to keep their jobs, and therefore, reinforces a cycle that already exists within private businesses of not hiring Emiratis,” he said. “Hence, firms will resist much more than in the past from hiring Emiratis.”
...

"Now companies will think twice before hiring UAE nationals," said Hamed Buamim, Director General of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce.

"Any ruling imposing regulations on the private sector will have a negative effect on businesses. Companies will be more cautious in employing Emiratis. Such decisions might discourage employers from employing UAE nationals and encourage Emiratis not to give their best," he said.

Thus, the PR campaign to tell everyone how great a law it is has been started. Ever reliable UAE Government defender Gulf News even printed the following headline to help, even though the article itself clearly reinforces the notion that many in the private sector think it will reduce Emirati attractiveness as employees.

Private sector backs decision to regulate sacking of Emiratis
By Wafa Issa, Staff Reporter
Published: February 20, 2009, 18:15

Dubai: The private sector backed the decision to regulate the sacking of Emiratis, announced by the Ministry of Labour on Wednesday, but some warned that it could discourage employers from hiring Emiratis.

The National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority (Tanmia) said earlier that employers will think twice before sacking UAE nationals following the decision.
...

And they'll think 3 times before hiring another one, I'll tell ya.

Interested readers can find comments a plenty about this issue on the previous post.

UAE experiments with unintended consequences: illegal to fire Emiratis

Yes, those wacky Emiratis! Two interesting news articles in today's Gulf News.

First, UAE Labour Law
The Emirates seem determined to make locals as unattractive to have as employees as possible. A proposal to ban companies in the private sector from sacking Emiratis other than for labour law violations has been proposed.


The proposal to make new graduates in the UAE, like these fresh faced young ladies, as attractive to employ as a ball and chain.


After a UAE real estate development company decided to axe a few locals, what with the collapse of the real estate market, lack of credit and buyers, and a huge potential overhang of new apartments already nearing completion meaning work was rather thin on the ground, the disgruntled employees took their case to the Ministry of Manpower claiming arbitrary dismissal.

Fair enough, this sort of legal challenge to redundancy happens everywhere. But the response of the Labour Ministry is typical of the regional response to such issues: if there's a problem, simply declare the symptom of that problem illegal, rather than perhaps looking at what the root causes are, and addressing those.

So, the razor-sharp minds in the UAE Ministry are proposing to simply make it almost impossible for private firms to fire an Emirati. Brilliant.

The likely result of such a law will, I trust, be obvious to most readers. No-one who owns a private firm will want to hire an Emirati. Those that do, will - if they are clever - devise means around the problem, such as having a holding company with all the cash, and subsidiary companies that can hold the employees. When necessary, such a subsidiary might go bankrupt...

This is a stupid law. It might arguably "preserve the jobs of Emiratis" who already have one, but it will be highly damaging to employment prospects of future Emiratis.

Unfortunately, Oman has similar laws. In fact, the Government have basically told all companies in Oman over the past couple of months that they had better not be laying off any Omani staff in response to under the pretext of the global recession, as - of course - Oman is protected from these overseas problems. (Getting rid of Expats is fine, naturally, and with little in the way of legal protection).

The answer should be to make it more attractive to hire locals, perhaps by progressively taxing foreign labour, making it as easy to hire and fire locals as Expats, and having educational programs that turn locals into useful potential employees rather than work-shy holders of some useless qualification certificate. Unemployment insurance or social welfare needs to be put in place. Rules on minimum redundancy payments too. And pensions made transferable between companies.

Oh wait, that all seems like a lot of work. Much easier to just make the problem illegal and then state that Government has solves the problem!

Proposal moots job security for Emiratis
By Wafa Issa, Staff Reporter
Published: February 14, 2009, 23:12

Dubai: A proposal to ban companies in the private sector from sacking Emiratis other than for labour law violations is under consideration.

The National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority (Tanmia) has submitted a draft proposal to the Ministry of Labour under which cases pertaining to the termination of Emiratis working in the private sector are to be evaluated.

Feddah Lootah, the acting director-general at Tanmia, said the proposal aims to safeguard jobs of Emiratis in the private sector. "The main task of the authority is to preserve the jobs of Emiratis," he said.

The ministry is looking into the proposal but no time-frame has been given as to when a decision could be made.
The proposal suggests that the termination of Emiratis in private sector companies is to be considered arbitrary unless the employee has violated the labour law.

The violations which could lead to a worker's peremptory dismissal are outlined in Article 120 in the Labour Law.

Article 120 clearly mentions ten cases in which the employer is entitled to terminate a worker's contract. Non-performance of basic duties as set out under the contract and repeated violations despite warnings, professional mistakes which result in a substantial material loss to the employer, and clear disregard for safety instructions at the workplace are some of the clauses that can be brought against erring employees.

Last week, Gulf News reported that a group of Emiratis had filed a complaint against Al Futtaim Group for what they said was arbitrary termination. The case is still under review at the ministry after the sacked employees had sought immediate reinstatement.

The Tanmia proposal also stipulates that any company in the private sector forced to terminate Emiratis as part of restructuring policies aimed at increasing competitiveness, review of production costs in tough times, or in cases involving mergers between companies should duly inform the ministry of labour about such a move before any decision.

Also, as per the proposal, no company will be allowed to sack an Emirati before it has exhausted all avenues to find a suitable solution.

The proposal outlines a number of steps that a company should mandatorily satisfy before terminating Emiratis such as implementing a part-time system, repackaging salaries on the condition that they don't go below the minimum wage for Emiratis (which is between Dh3,000-Dh5,000 - depending on the qualifications), relocating them within the company or training them to handle other positions in the company.

Additionally, an employer in the private sector will also not be allowed to terminate an Emirati on the pretext that he/she does not have the required qualifications and skills, if the employee has completed her/his probation period.
...

Secondly, a disturbing Valentine's Day tale of a man who confessed and was convicted of forceably raping his defacto-wife's 4 female children over many years... The police got involved when one of the girls finally got the strength to go to the Police.

The result for the girls? All were sentenced to 80 lashes for "allowing" the man to have sex with them. And he was deported after a brief spell in jail, instead of being stoned to death.

Gee, I wonder why so few rapes are reported happen in the Arab world, compared to the morally corrupt West?

Death-row rapist deported after admitting to charges
By Bassma Al Jandaly, Staff Reporter
Published: February 14, 2009, 23:12

Ajman: A man who was to be stoned to death for raping his mistress's young daughters has been deported, Gulf News has learnt.

Abdul Aziz, a Pakistani, was sentenced for repeatedly raping the four Emirati girls, who were then aged between 12-14. Their father, an Emirati, was married to an Indian woman. When he died his widow then got into a relationship with Abdul Aziz. Gulf News earlier reported Abdul Aziz had married the Indian woman, but police investigations revealed they were not married.

"The woman who used to live in Al Ain, told police after her arrest in Ajman that she married Abdul Aziz soon after the death of her Emirati husband and the father of her daughters, but the truth is that there was no official and approved marriage contract between the woman and the man," a police official said. Abdul Aziz lived with the woman and her daughters for more than 12 years, claiming that he is their step father.

The girls and their mother gave birth to more than 12 children from him. One of the girls was eight months pregnant when they were arrested in 2005, according to police. DNA tests by Dubai Police proved that Abdul Aziz was the father.

The woman's youngest daughter reported the matter to police when Abdul Aziz tried to attack her. He was arrested and subsequently sentenced to death by stoning. Gulf News learnt that Abdul Aziz was later deported.

The accused admitted his guilt at all stages of the court proceedings. He told the court he was the father of some of the children, but some others "were not his."

The mother was accused of aiding and abetting him and forging the birth certificates of her daughters' children. She has also been deported, Gulf News has learnt. The four girls were sentenced to 80 lashes each. The girls were charged with "allowing" the man to have sex with them.

The victims, who are now aged between 23 and 28, told the judge, Abdul Aziz used to threaten them with a knife, forcing them to surrender to him.
Police said Abdul Aziz and the woman lived together for several years. Police said that when neighbours and relatives in Al Ain noticed something was wrong, the couple moved to Ajman.

The girls told police that some of their children were born in India and some in the UAE. Their mother used to tell people in the UAE that her daughters were married in India and she used to tell relatives in India that her daughters were married in the UAE.

Police said the girls and their children who are now being taking care of by their relatives in Al Ain are suffering psychologically. "They are naive and illiterate, They never went to school," a police official said.