Labour Rights Violations in United Arab Emirates

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Migrants comprise the basis of the labour force of the United Arab Emirates. The United Arab Emirates is considered to be one of the richest countries in the world. The rapid economic development and a high level of prosperity make the United Arab Emirates an attractive place for migrants who are ready to work hard to receive appropriate payment. Nevertheless, readiness and desire to work hard does not presuppose the need to stand violations of labour rights and abusive treatment. In the following paper, reasons of the abusive labour practice in the United Arab Emirates will be identified and analysed.

According to Malit and Al Youha (2013), “in 2013, the UAE had the fifth-largest international migrant stock in the world with 7.8 million migrants (out of total population of 9.2 million) according to the United Nations estimates” (para. 1). Thus, one may conclude that the UAE economy depends on the migrant labour force. It seems that this necessity should lead to the tolerant treatment of migrants and appreciation of their value. However, investigations of the Human Rights Watch provide information that migrants face terrible working conditions and experience various practices of abusive treatment. For instance, employers can confiscate passports of workers, make them work all day long without breaks and days off, physically abuse them, deny to provide adequate medical treatment, living conditions, and even food (Human Rights Watch, 2014).

The first reason concerns the biased treatment of workers. Most migrants come from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. They are low-skilled workers primarily. Employers do not respect them due to the differences in social statuses. For instance, Human Rights Watch provide examples when employers treat their workers in such a way as if they have bought them. Thus, migrants face a severe discrimination and disrespect due to their social background and low level of income.

Still, it is not the major reason for the abusive labour practice. The second significant reason refers to legal issues of migration. The United Arab Emirates provides migrants with the opportunity to enter the country via the visa sponsorship system known as Kafala. Researchers agree that this system is extremely disadvantageous for migrants. This system is not efficient, and it lacks necessary measures for the protection of the rights of migrants. According to this system, the employer pays for visa expenses for the worker. At the first sights, it seems to be a positive practice. However, this procedure makes migrants depended on the employer as well. The latter begins to abuse his or her power, and humiliate and violate workers’ human rights and freedoms (Malit & Al Youha, 2013).

Finally, the lack of appropriate labour rules, as well as law enforcement agencies, form the last reason for the abusive practices in the state. According to Ahmad (2015), there are cases when employers change terms of the contract and migrants cannot receive adequate support from local authorities. The increasing number of official claims prove that fact. Malit and Al Youha (2013) describe this reason by stating that “there is insufficient institutional and staff capacity and funding, as well as lack in coordination between federal and local agencies to enforce labour laws” (para. 14).

Three primary causes lead to the abusive labour practices in the United Arab Emirates. They are discrimination of workers, the inefficient visa sponsorship system, and lack of the proper legal protection of labour rights.