According to the International Labour Organization there are 24 million migrant workers residing in the Gulf Cooperation Council states. The Gulf region is the world’s hub for overseas workers. Migrant workers make up a significant percentage of the total 62 million people living in GCC countries, yet they suffer systemic discrimination.
Migrant workers in the region already suffer from labour violations, poor working conditions, mobility restrictions and lack of protection before the law, now with the recent conflict in the region, they face even more danger. Human Rights Watch conducted a report analysing the increased risks migrant workers are now facing as consequence of the Iranian strikes on the gulf.
Migrant workers perform jobs that are often located near military targets, like in refineries, oil depots of port terminals. Additionally, the functioning of Gulf economies and societies rely on migrant labour, as migrants often work in hospitals, food and water delivery services, the maintenance of critical infrastructure, taxi drivers and more; these are jobs that do not close in times of crisis. Migrants are forced to continue going to work, despite the dangerous conditions, exposing them to the threat of fatal attacks. Saleh Ahmed, a Bangladeshi national was killed in the UAE after the debris of a missile struck his taxi.
Many migrant workers do not have the option to stay home, even if the work conditions are life-threatening, as most send the majority of their wages back home, which their families rely on to survive. The consequences of this war reach far wider than the region immediately affected.
However, many migrant workers are not receiving their wages as businesses lose customers due to the conflict and are failing to pay their works, or are forcing them to go on unpaid leave. With the rise in energy and food costs this creates catastrophic financial consequences for migrant workers, who do not have the option to leave their host country. Due to the kafala sponsorship system in the Gulf, where the employees sponsor the migrant worker, the worker’s mobility is restricted, they must obtain permission from their employer to go home. This causes millions of migrant workers to become trapped in the Gulf, facing dangerous and precarious circumstance to their physical and financial safety. While workers try to survive in these conditions, multinationals continue to profit from their exploited labour.
Of the 17 people who have been killed in attacks in the Gulf, 12 of those have been migrant workers. One migrant worker interviewed by HRW said that he is “afraid every time I go to work, there is no way of knowing where the next missile will land. But I go anyway… we think about one thing only, how to make the next 10 riyals.” Due to the low wages and high living costs, and the terrible working conditions, where employers do not pay their workers’ wages for months on end, workers are forced to continue working despite the risk that poses; “on one hand migrant workers are working in fear, on the other hand there is constant anxiety about losing our jobs” told another worker to HRW.
International law obliges states to protect the human rights of all those within their jurisdiction, including migrant workers. Despite this most have not been properly explained on the procedure to follow when an attack occurs, they have not been shown evacuation routes or the locations of shelters, or even the correct emergency services to call if needs be.
States must enforce companies to provide paid leave and ensure access to social security and an adequate standard of living for all, especially in times of crisis.
