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Understanding Labour Migration Policies in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries

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Asianization of Migrant Workers in the Gulf Countries

Abstract

In light of mounting international criticism over the living and working conditions for many migrant workers in the region, over the past few years, many of the Gulf Cooperation Council governments have initiated reforms in relation to their mechanisms for governing regional migration. Critical interventions have been initiated to address problems that have arisen as a result of the kafala or worker sponsorship system, as well as to mitigate shortfalls within regional labour law. This chapter will examine the evolution of Gulf labour migration policies, contentious areas which have come under criticism by proponents of migrant workers’ rights, and current reforms that are underway.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In Qatar, for example, where foreigners far outnumber locals in the labour market, non-nationals account for the bulk of jobs across most sectors. But in spite of this, 72% of the foreign population is engaged in lower-income categories or ‘elementary occupations’. The average ‘foreign worker’ in Qatar is male and works in the construction sector. For more on this please see: Fancoise De Bel-Air, “Demography, Migration, and Labour Market in Qatar”, Gulf Labour Markets and Migration Research Note, No. 8, 2014.

  2. 2.

    For more on this, please see the United Arab Emirates Ministry Of Labor website: UAE, Ministry of Labor, Wage Protection System Guideline, 2009. http://www.mol.gov.ae/newMolGateway/english/wpsGuidelineEng.aspx#3

  3. 3.

    “Gulf States to reform contracts of domestic workers,” Financial Times, November 2014, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/82c820aa-756b-11e4-a1a9-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3POyJ3hyL; “Qatar promises to reform ‘kafala’ labour law,” November 16, 2014, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/11/qatar-promises-reform-kafala-labour-law-2014111661154969555.html; “Qatar Announces Wide-Ranging Labour Market Reforms,” May 14, 2015, http://www.moi.gov.qa/site/english/news/2014/05/14/32204.html

  4. 4.

    Article 7, Qatari Law No. 21 of 2015.

  5. 5.

    For example, the Qatar Statistics Authority released date in 2014 which indicated that only 17.6% of the foreign population in Qatar is female. Women migrants also make up only 11.4% of the foreign labour force.

  6. 6.

    For further elaboration of this point, please see: “The International Convention on Migrant Workers and its Committee”, Fact Sheet No. 24 (Rev.1), Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, (New York and Geneva: 2005), http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FactSheet24rev.1en.pdf

  7. 7.

    For elaboration on this argument please see Martin Ruhs, The Price of Rights: Regulating International Labor Migration, (Princeton University Press: 2014).

  8. 8.

    For example, please see: Fancoise De Bel-Air, “Demography, Migration, and Labour Market in Qatar”, Gulf Labour Markets and Migration Research Note, No. 8, 2014.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for International and Regional Studies (CIRS), Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, Ar-Rayyan, Qatar

    Zahra R. Babar

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  1. Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

    S. Irudaya Rajan

  2. Kerala Public Service Commission, Trivandrum, Kerala, India

    Ginu Zacharia Oommen

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Babar, Z.R. (2020). Understanding Labour Migration Policies in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries. In: Rajan, S.I., Oommen, G.Z. (eds) Asianization of Migrant Workers in the Gulf Countries. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9287-1_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9287-1_3

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