Broken Future: The Plight of Migrant Workers in the GCC

By. Ibrahim Bah

DOI: 10.57912/28520462

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Gaze out onto the Riyadh skyline, and whispers of the future make themselves known. An ever-growing collection of gleaming skyscrapers stands opulent, proud, and aspirational among the hazy, vast expanse of the Arabian Desert as they welcome you to the Saudi capital. Similar visages are found across the major cities of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait. These skyscrapers stand in stark contrast to the Arabian Peninsula of yesteryear, before oil wealth catapulted these fishing communities and Bedouin nomads into an age of prosperity. Saying that this vision of the future is built off oil would be apt, but it would be equally, if not more, apt to say that this future is built off the backs of an exploitative migrant labor system that violates many standards of human rights and is in desperate need of reform.

The kafala system, endemic to all GCC states, is a system of labor that imports foreign workers (often from poor regions like South Asia, the Philippines, and East Africa) to fulfill a wide variety of unskilled and blue-collar labor needs, from construction to plumbing to maintenance and even domestic work. The kafala system is a legally sanctioned system of managing labor and immigration for Gulf regimes. There is a sponsor (either a Gulf company, government, or private citizen) that signs a contract and sponsors a visa for the sponsored worker. Usually, hiring agencies serve as intermediaries that source labor from countries of origin and facilitate said contracts. Under these contracts, sponsors assert full controlover their sponsored worker(s) and their earnings; until recently, migrant workers could not switch sponsors, even amid rights abuses. 

The kafala system has been labeled a form of modern-day slavery by experts worldwide, and workers often suffer a litany of human rights abuses at the hands of their sponsors (especially so for private citizens or company sponsors). Until recently, kafala workers were not allowed to form trade unions or organize other forms of association; they were not allowed to leave the country without an exit permit provided by their sponsors; if they are fired by their sponsor or their contract expires, they must leave the country immediately with no legal pathway to permanent residence. Until recently (and sometimes even today), workers’ passports are confiscated upon arrival. They cannot perform many actions we would see as mundane, such as opening a bank account or obtaining a car, without their sponsor’s consent. Kafala workers face a range of health issues, from squalid, overcrowded living conditions in labor camps where disease festers, to dangerous onsite conditions and exposure to extreme heat. This is not to mention possible abuse at the hands of their employers. These issues are exacerbated tenfold for domestic workers, usually female, who are not considered official employees and are thus unprotected by the (albeit growing) regulations that govern the system. Possession of many domestic workers is widespread in the Gulf, often a status symbol among private citizens. These workers are often exposed to physical, psychological, and sexual abuse while enduring long hours, inhumane living and sleeping conditions, and substandard access to food. According to research done in 2011, forms of exploitation such as withholding wages costs migrants an estimated $21 billion. The kafala system is linked to, if not outright in service of, global human and sex trafficking; in the same study, sex trafficking was estimated to make up 30% of Dubai’s total economic activity. 

The severe abuses inherent to the kafala stand in stark juxtaposition to the highly positive treatment of wealthier foreign expats, who are often highly sought after in service of Gulf economic and technological development (and who often implicitly or explicitly reinforce kafala labor). It also stands in high contrast to the immense benefits that Gulf citizens enjoy from their governments, a so-called “hydrocarbon-based social contract” that entitles them to free healthcare, education, and housing. Many GCC nationals see the kafala system as a method of controlling their foreign population and maintaining the sociocultural position that they enjoy, especially given that the foreign-born population often outnumbers that of Gulf citizens. 

The kafala system does not exist in a vacuum. Most kafala workers send much of their meager paychecks to their countries of origin in the form of remittances; ergo, the root cause of the exploitative system is the political and economic insecurity of much of the Global South. Moreover, the conditions in which kafala workers are exposed violate numerous international labor agreements. But, crucially, the GCC states are not signatories to most of these agreements. 

The Arabian Peninsula continues to relentlessly chase a future of larger-than-life, science-fiction proportions. The breakneck pace of globalization has seen the GCC become steadily integrated into the international ecosystem and has made global migration easier and more widespread. The UAE is now a major tourist and business destination; Qatar hosted the World Cup in 2022, and Saudi Arabia will be following suit in 2034. Saudi Arabia continues to construct megaprojects of an inconceivable scale and magnitude. Their future without oil is becoming reality in a present with kafala. Chasing that future should not come at the cost of human well-being. And given the Gulf’s vitality to the world’s economy and energy needs, a response from the international community is imperative. 

Among the GCC nations, efforts must be made to enforce pre-existing regulations on the kafala system (which are often disregarded by private citizens), while also creating new regulations and having internal and external watchdogs to ensure that ethical living and working conditions are being observed. This will ensure that recent, positive reforms in the face of international scrutiny will have lasting impact. Widespread awareness of these regulations is key: all too often, kafala workers are unaware of their legal rights, and company and private citizen sponsors are unaware of their legal responsibilities. Kafala workers must gain rights to association, improved living conditions, and the freedoms that currently require sponsor permission. Securing rights for domestic workers, becoming a signatory to international labor treaties, and stemming the flow of human trafficking are also essential steps to improving labor in the Gulf. Some researchers have suggested eliminating private citizen sponsorship entirely, given that kafala workers are usually treated better by government sponsors. 

The United States, in particular, has an imperative to address the kafala system, given the numerous American expats and the US’s symbolic role as a leader in defining global human rights. In trade deals and other economic relations, the US can input stipulations that require the involved states to join international labor conventions or otherwise ensure a shift away from exploitation; after all, US law already bans the import of goods produced by slave labor (which the kafala system has been alleged to be at its worst by human rights organizations). The international community, through reduced economic interaction, international agreements, or even sanctions, can put pressure on the Gulf states for internal changes (especially given that the GCC will have to rely more on the outside world to fund and partake in their major projects). Most importantly, the US and the global community must invest in the economic and political stability of the Global South, so that kafala labor is not the only option for desperate people. Sustainable, long-term economic development is critical in developing a form of globalization whose fruits can be enjoyed more equitably across the globe. Until these changes are made, kafala workers will keep toiling away in the unrelenting Arabian heat, planting the foundations of a future for others to enjoy, a future they cannot grasp.