Treatment of South Asian labourers in the Gulf Cooperation Council region

Migrant workers in Doha, Qatar

The treatment of South Asian labourers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region is an ongoing issue between members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations and the wealthy oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council. The current large number of migrants from South Asia to the Persian Gulf began in the 1960s, when the oil boom in the Gulf Arab countries resulted in migrant labourers. This further increased with the development of large mega-cities. With the growth of megacities of Dubai, Doha and Riyadh,[1] the need for construction labourers grew. Migrants from Bhutan, Nepal, Iran, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Maldives were contracted to develop the mushrooming skyscrapers. Many of these migrants were brought into the GCC under the kafala system, a sponsor-based system used in the GCC, which is seen by many human rights groups as highly exploitative, since their passports are confiscated and they are forced to work in low-level conditions, within cramped living quarters, for a low salary, and sometimes even without their due pay; when exploitation is brought up or exposed by media or the labourers, their employers are rarely punished.[2][3][4]

  1. ^ "Gulf crisis: South Asian workers 'forgotten victims' in Qatar". middleeasteye.net. 14 June 2017.
  2. ^ "South Asia: Protect Migrant Workers to Gulf Countries". hrw.org. December 18, 2013.
  3. ^ "Saudi Labor Reforms Still Leave Millions Exposed To Abuse, Exploitation". gandhara.rferl.org. November 11, 2020.
  4. ^ "How poor Pakistanis are tricked into becoming drug mules". www.economist.com. February 6, 2020.

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