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Vulnerability of Low-Income Migrant Workers

The document discusses the vulnerability of low-income migrant workers to labor exploitation, particularly under the kafala system in Gulf Cooperation Council states. Reports from the ILO highlight that these workers are often deceived about job conditions and face inadequate living situations. Interviews with migrant workers reveal manipulation by agents and a lack of legal protection, exacerbating their exploitation and impacting their families and communities.

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Marriyam Nawaz Nawaz
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17 views2 pages

Vulnerability of Low-Income Migrant Workers

The document discusses the vulnerability of low-income migrant workers to labor exploitation, particularly under the kafala system in Gulf Cooperation Council states. Reports from the ILO highlight that these workers are often deceived about job conditions and face inadequate living situations. Interviews with migrant workers reveal manipulation by agents and a lack of legal protection, exacerbating their exploitation and impacting their families and communities.

Uploaded by

Marriyam Nawaz Nawaz
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Focus Question: Are low-income migrant workers the most vulnerable to labor

exploitation?
Global Perspective
The Council on Foreign Affairs published an article which emphasized upon the kafala
system which was a legal framework built in GCC states (Gulf Countries Cooperation),
like Jordan and Lebanon to construct a healthy environment for migrant workers and
employers to benefit them socially and economically. Despite that, Houtan
Homayounpour, the previous head of the Gulf office of ILO gave a statement in which he
said, “They would bring in workers from abroad that didn’t speak the language, that
were not aware of the cultural sensitivities, that came without a social support
network,”5 And also mentioned that albeit sponsors were suppose to take care of their
necessities like healthcare and insurance according to contracts but neglected them
instead.6
The ILO (International Labors Organization) wrote and presented a report called
“Tricked and Trapped”7 based upon 650 interviews of migrant workers in Gulf-States
like Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE over the period of two-years which concluded that most
low-income migrant-workers are lied to about their job description. It further mentioned
that in sectors such as construction, manufacturing and factory work, and agriculture,
workers are “routinely deceived with respect to living and working conditions, the type of
work to be performed, or even the existence of a job at all”.8

National Perspective
Hiba Shoaib wrote an article for the Habib University website after interviewing Rashid,
a Pakistani migrant-worker in Saudi Arabia who drove cabs. In the interview he
mentioned that he was manipulated by his agent and was made false promises of getting
rich, he mentioned that his promised wage was 2000 Riyals but was paid 1700 Riyals,9
he also stated that he wasn’t informed of the inadequate living conditions, “I mean, these
details might’ve been in my contract that I signed in Pakistan, but I did not have any
knowledge of them when I left Pakistan”.10 He claims that he was also blackmailed on
certain occasions when asking for a leave. Furthermore. The article further quoted an ILO
report from 2016 which stated that 50.1% immigrant workers from Pakistan went to
Saudi Arabia between 1971-2015 and 41% were employed in low-skill and less-income
job categories.11
Government Parliamentarian Commission for Human Rights Department - Pakistan
(PCHR-P), Chaudhry Shafique said: “Exploitation of migrant workers is not just an
individual issue, it affects their families, the community and, most importantly, the
economy.”12
Similarly, Dawn released a report in Islamabad, “The cost of living: migrant workers’
access to health in the Gulf”13, it stated that Pakistanis faced labor difficulties overseas
due to their lack of understanding of the labor recruitment process, laws that were
exploitative towards migrant workforce and the lack of legal-protection by home country.

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