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.

More Government idiocy being considered - Imprison all expats in Oman!

Hope you all had a nice weekend - cool weather, a little bit of rain, but no major storm (at least so far!). More rain forecast for the next 2 to 3 days, but as long as it keeps coming in spurts, excellent news. It is amazing how beautiful the temperature gets when we have some decent cloud cover. More thunder and heavy rain likely tomorrow, BTW.

Meanwhile, Oman continues to try to improve their current status as 'Tier 3 / Tier 2 watch list' in the upcoming 2009 US State Dept Human Trafficking Report.

As it has already been agreed that expat workers in Oman are entitled to hold onto their own passports (even though many still have their passport kept illegally by their 'employers', a crime for which there is no defined punishment anyhow), the problem is now seen as this:

How can an Omani sponsor stop his expats leaving the country without 'permission' if he can't legally confiscate their passports?

Ah ha! Easy. We'll invent a new document called an "Exit Pass" that would be required from the sponsor before any expat is allowed to leave Oman, even temporarily, passport or not! See report in Gulf News. [thanks for the tip AM]



Yes. Turn all of Oman into a giant prison for all non-GCC expats, unless they have written permission to leave from their owner 'Sponsor'. Problem solved!

This proposal totally misses the point (I hope readers can figure that out). It may allow Oman's National Committee for Getting out of Human Trafficking Report Tier 3 Combating Human Trafficking to tick the box on 'Expats don't have passports confiscated anymore', but maintains in practice that 'Expats would still not able to leave the country without permission from their sponsor'.

And in the process would create a whole new load of paperwork before any expat could even drive to Dubai, and henceforth there would be two classes of expats: those with a magic exit permit [aka free men], and those without [aka slaves - Check out the recent book on Modern Slavery: A Crime So Monstrous].

That such a proposal is even considered provides a revealing glimpse of how most Expats are still thought of by the powers that be in Oman - as a resource to be used and controlled via coertion.

Even now, an Expat in Oman is effectively owned by his or her Omani sponsor. You have 4 choices:
(1) work for your sponsor, and if you have a problem with wages, your treatment or other contractual aspects, complain to the Ministry of Manpower, or;
(2) leave the country (if you have your passport and labour card), or;
(3) get permission from your sponsor to transfer to a new sponsor (usually for a significant fee), or;
(4) abscond and work illegally for someone else, thus being subject to arrest, fines, imprisonment and deportation.

But an expat cannot resign from one sponsor to work for another without permission from the original sponsor. It's a form of bonded labour. You can imagine the power this gives an Omani sponsor over an employee whose only option is being sent on a one-way flight back to their miserable home country, and who perhaps might not be treated very well while they wait for their complaint with the MoM or the backed up court system to be processed.

Now, an argument would be that if expats don't want to work in such a system they can choose not to come here. But few expats realise that this is they way Oman works before getting here, perhaps thinking that an Omani work visa is similar to how it would be in the UK or US, where the Government has given you a right to seek employment relatively freely. And most low paid expats here have little choice anyhow - they are here out of desperation to earn money to send home. But that is exactly why Governments should protect such powerless people from being overly exploited.

If they are truly serious about Human Rights, Oman needs to think properly about how it could improve the way it treats expats, especially low-paid labour from the 3rd world, and protect them from such effective slavery. The answer is not to just turn the entire country into a prison, just so that we can claim expats have a travel document, albeit one that is useless for actually travelling.

And perhaps we should re-read the 1926 International Slavery Convention while we're at it:

Slavery was defined(Art.1) as:
"the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised"

and the slave trade was defined to include:

"all acts involved in the capture, acquisition or disposal of a person with intent to reduce him to slavery; all acts involved in the acquisition of a slave with a view to selling or exchanging him; all acts of disposal by sale or exchange of a slave acquired with a view to being sold or exchanged, and, in general, every act of trade or transport in slaves."

here's the news article from yesterday's Gulf News:

Oman considers exit pass for expatriates
By Sunil K. Vaidya, Bureau Chief
Published: April 03, 2009, 23:02

Muscat: Oman is considering a proposal to introduce 'exit permits' for expatriate residents even as the police chief has identified three forms of human trafficking prevalent in the country.

Lieutenant General Malek Bin Sulaiman Al Maamari, Oman's Inspector General of Police and Customs, said that the National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking would prepare a draft on combating various aspects of human trafficking and it would be completed within three months.

"Protecting the rights of foreign work force is part of the proposed draft," the police chief told media at the end of the first meeting of the Committee at the Royal Oman Police headquarters.

"The Manpower Ministry has done a lot to guarantee the rights of workers but there are some small details that need to be looked into, including [the] right to keep [one's] passport," he said.

"[A] passport is a private document and every employee has the right to keep the same with him or her," he said but added that the employers also needed some form of guarantee that employees would not leave dubiously.

Therefore, the committee discussed a proposal where every expatriate would be required to obtain a clearance letter from the employer or sponsor before leaving the country.

"It is like 'exit pass' that is in practice in some of the other GCC countries," he told Gulf News.

In Saudi Arabia and Qatar, foreign workers have to obtain exit permit to leave the country. The police chief stressed that the committee only discussed the proposal on clearance letters for expatriate leaving Oman.

"If accepted every expatriate will have to seek [an] exit permit even before going on leave," Al Maamari said.
Oman is a home to about 750,000 foreign workers, and the majority of them are currently required to hand over their passports to their employers.

However, the new move is set to allow them to keep their passports.

The chairman of the National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking also admitted that prostitution, trade in human organs and child labour had afflicted Oman.

Authorities had so far uncovered only one case of human trafficking, relating to prostitution.

"We have arrested seven Omani nationals and four expatriates of other nationalities for forcing women into prostitution," he said.

He said that victims of the prostitution racket were sheltered at a centre run by the authorities and that they were well looked after. He also said the women were even escorted when they went shopping or undertook leisure trips. He also the victims would be sent back to their home country once legal proceedings were concluded and rulings delivered.

He said it was bitter to note that some countries demanding human rights observance by all nations had legalised prostitution as a profession and even ensure benefits accrued to prostitutes.

"It [prostitution] may be the oldest profession in human history but our religion does not tolerate this," the top Omani police officer reiterated.

Al Maamari said that the problem of illegal immigrants entering Oman along the Batina coast was a continuing development.

"We arrest almost 30 to 40 illegal immigrants every day along the coast and currently there are over 1,000 people from Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan languishing in our detention centres for illegally entering the country," he said.

He admitted that the nation was faced with a complex challenge in the form of human traffickers from Pakistan as well as Iran.