GCC urged to search elsewhere for foreign labour

FOREIGN LABORERS: Bahrain warned that overdependence on expat workers is grave threat to region's identity. (Getty Images)

Bahrain’s government stressed the need for Gulf states to find alternative countries to source foreign workers from on Tuesday, warning that overdependence on existing labor export countries may lead to imposition of their own working conditions.

Gulf nations are in negotiations with Vietnam to source workers in the fields of mechanical engineering, construction and food processing, UAE daily Gulf News reported labour sources as saying on Monday.

Bahrain’s position on foreign workers has come under heavy criticism from human rights organizations in recent weeks after the kingdom doubled the cost of work visas for expatriates and proposed a duel price system, under which foreigners would be charged more for basic goods than locals.

Bahrain has also proposed a 6-year residency cap for foreign workers. The proposal has twice been knocked back by GCC leaders who say such a measure would have negative impacts on the region’s economies.

Al Aswat, the author of the much debated 6-year visa cap for foreign workers, warned that the presence of expatriate workers in the region place Gulf countries at risk losing their demographic, national and cultural identity.

"This region will not remain Arab-Islamic in the presence of millions of Asians here,” Al Alawi said in an interview published on Sunday in Asharq Al Aswat newspaper. “I do not exaggerate when I say that we will soon see a Gulf minister or Member of Parliament from the Indian subcontinent."

The government announcement came two days after Al Aswat warned that the presence of foreign workers in the Gulf was a greater threat to the region than the fallout of a nuclear bomb or an Israeli attack.

"If the Gulf governments do not watch out for this tsunami of foreign labourers, the fate of this region is very worrying," he said.

According to statistics quoted by newswire AFP, there are around 35 million people living in the GCC, of whom 37% are foreign workers.

Expatriates account for around 80% of the population of Qatar and the UAE, while in Kuwait it is roughly 60% and in Bahrain it is about 40%, according to statistics compiled by Human Rights Watch.

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READERS' COMMENTS

Added note
Posted by Hussain M, Khobar, Saudi Arabia on Thursday 31 January 2008 at 09:28 UAE time


I would also like to add the following statement.

It is important to respect people working here "in our countries" not for just for what they do. We need to learn to respect Humanity of people living here, not because they just might one day be rulers or leaders in their own country. But to insure that when they do become leaders or important figure heads, They will remember us as the people who treated them well, respected them, in turn gaining respect and acknowledgment for ourselves.

:)

Hypocrisy...
Posted by Nilanjan, Dubai, UAE on Wednesday 30 January 2008 at 08:20 UAE time


While so much effort is being put to curb and restrict influx of foreign "labourers", little focus is being directed towards some serious development of the respective nationals. Setting up campuses of well known universities does not solve the problem, it only makes sound business sense. As an alternate, again you explore Vietnam...which am sure is not a GCC country...so what happens...another Vietnamese tsunami? Where all would you go? Stop this negative approach and open up to exchange of talent and ideas. It will only enrich this world.

GCC urged to search elsewhere for foreign labour
Posted by ismeabdullah, Doha, Qatar on Tuesday 29 January 2008 at 22:25 UAE time

Al Alawi in absolutely right in his comment about foreign labor. In you go around the city of Doha, you will feel like you're in India. The inflow of one set of nationals need to be balanced so that there is a mix of expatriate labour.

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