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We are at the end of the year 2020 and it is time to take stock of what this year has meant for migrant workers in the six #GCC states. Here is a month-wise review of policies, practices and their impact on the millions of migrants in the region. #2020Review
January was the usual mix of hope, some dashed and some not. MR launched a mapping of resources for domestic workers. A comprehensive list of who, what, how and where of the existing support mechanisms for the most vulnerable. #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/01/new-mapping-of-rights-resources-for-domestic-workers-in-the-gcc/
GCC States have a combined seaboard of 7000km. Seafood is a significant part of their diet. But how are fishermen, almost all migrants, treated? This white paper of the year deals with one of the most vulnerable sectors in the region. #2020Review #fishing https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/01/in-troubled-waters-the-fishing-sector-in-the-fgcc/
A PDF of “In Troubled Waters: The Fishing Sector in GCC” can be accessed here. #2020Review
https://www.migrant-rights.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Fishermen-White-Paper-Jan4.pdf
https://www.migrant-rights.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Fishermen-White-Paper-Jan4.pdf
An increasing number of cases of extreme abuse against migrant domestic workers in Kuwait results in the Philippines banning deployment of domestic workers. #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/01/the-philippines-implements-partial-ban-on-deployment-of-domestic-workers-to-kuwait/
In an effort to ensure that migrant domestic workers are paid as contracted, UAE increases the minimum salary requirement for those who wish to sponsor MDWs. #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/01/uae-households-must-now-earn-aed25000-to-sponsor-domestic-workers/
January ended with a significant announcement from Qatar, which abolished the exit permit for most workers. Only Saudi Arabic still has an exit permit requirement for migrants. #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/01/qatar-abolishes-exit-permit-for-most-workers-including-domestic-workers/
February was the last of the ‘normal’ months this year. It was business as usual with migrant workers still largely at the mercy of their employers. #2020Review
The rhetoric of migrants as a burden on the socio-economic systems continues, particularly in #Kuwait #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/02/kuwait-bans-issuing-driving-licences-to-expatriate-students-and-nurses/
Nearly 30,000 migrant workers signed up for #Bahrain’s much-lauded Flexi-Permit. But higher fees, unclear regulations, and growing opposition prevent the scheme from functioning as a viable alternative to the Kafala system.
#2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/02/a-closer-look-at-the-flexi-permit-two-years-on/
#2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/02/a-closer-look-at-the-flexi-permit-two-years-on/
The Philippines decides to allow domestic workers recruitment to Kuwait following some new regulations set in place. #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/02/the-philippines-lifts-deployment-ban-on-domestic-workers-to-kuwait/
As we see time and again, the problems migrants face are not easily solved or meaningfully addressed. Case in point, workers of GPZ in Bahrain #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/02/g-p-zachariades-workers-still-unpaid-and-stranded-in-dire-conditions-in-bahrain/
When we published this piece on 24 February, we had no idea how much worse this would become in the region. This report is about overall health effects on migrant workers due to unprotected exposure to dire working conditions. #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/02/op-ed-the-precarious-health-situation-of-migrant-workers-in-the-gulf/
Published in early March, this draft policy note compares health care provisions for migrants in the GCC. This report examines the legal provisions for migrant healthcare and does not evaluate workers’ actual access to quality medical care. #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/03/comparison-of-health-care-coverage-for-workers-in-the-gcc/
Due to their exclusion from labour laws and the common perception that domestic work is not ‘real work,’ employers and workers alike lack awareness of the due entitlements. A regional comparison. #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/03/end-of-service-gratuity-for-domestic-workers-in-the-gcc/
We did not know the scale of what was coming. March 15th, cases of Covid19 in various countries and labour camps. #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/03/covid-19-gcc-states-must-take-careful-steps-to-protect-migrant-workers/
As GCC states started responding to the crisis, we review some of the measures and policies that impact lower-income migrant workers directly and provide links to official resources for residents. #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/03/gcc-covid-19-policies-need-to-better-protect-migrant-workers-from-infections-and-other-related-vulnerabilities/
Struggling to cope with the pandemic, #Kuwait announced a one month amnesty for irregular workers and promises to bear the cost of repatriations. #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/03/kuwait-announces-amnesty-for-irregular-migrants/
In April, GCC states and origin countries responded in different ways to the pandemic, beyond just announcing lockdown extensions.
UAE’s force majeure resolution states that these procedures should be undertaken ‘in agreement’ with the non-citizen employee, individual employees have little or no agency under the Kafala system. #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/04/uaes-resolution-to-stabilise-private-sector-employment-gives-businesses-a-free-hand-on-contract-change/
“Do we need a pandemic for us to open our eyes and see the miserable living conditions of migrant workers, and take action against the companies that contribute to their miseries,” asks @dalalalostad in this op-ed #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/04/op-ed-community-transmission-in-kuwait-hits-migrant-workers-hardest/
It is not just healthcare workers who are both invisible and indispensable; without migrant workers who continue to work in delivery, cleaning, construction and food industry, Gulf economies would have come to a complete halt by now. #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/04/the-covid-19-crisis-is-fueling-more-racist-discourse-towards-migrant-workers-in-the-gulf/
“When the dust settles, they will take a few knocks & bring in plane-loads of workers from ever more desperate countries to restart the economy. What then of the ones who now live here,” @vanish_forever asked in April. Those fears now come true #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/04/structured-to-perfection-racism-in-the-gulf/
The negative impact of the Covid19 crisis on the most marginalised populations will continue to multiply. Non-payments and loss of jobs aside, there is a pressing need to mainstream alternatives to cash and conventional banking transactions. #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/04/with-banks-and-money-transfer-agents-closed-migrants-struggle-to-send-money-home/
KSA repurposed empty schools and built makeshift camps to house migrant workers away from their overcrowded accommodation. But was this enough to rectify decades of neglect of migrants’ welfare, asks @abshaker #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/04/decades-of-migration-mismanagement-has-saudi-scampering-to-contain-the-spread/
In Bahrain, low-income migrant workers who were forcefully quarantined in cramped labour accommodations were left completely reliant on civil society organisations for food and basic necessities. #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/04/food-woes-for-quarantined-migrants-in-bahrain/
The isolation, separation from family, and the lack of community make it difficult for individuals to deal with the pressures of such a crisis. #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/04/migrants-take-their-own-lives-as-covid19s-psychological-impact-worsens/
The federal nature of the UAE in addition to the many free zones each with its own legislation, regulations and jurisdiction, makes it very difficult to apply a uniform Covid19 strategy. #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/04/uae-not-making-it-happen-for-its-migrants/
We deconstruct the multiple ways in which a domestic worker in the Gulf is amongst the hardest hit during the pandemic. #2020Review https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/04/domestic-workers-bearing-the-brunt-of-invisibility-isolation-and-inequality/
By May, it was amply clear that migrants would be amongst the worst affected by the pandemic. And that neither destination nor origin governments were prepared to humanely and effectively deal with the issues faced by the most vulnerable. #2020Review
