DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — South Asian migrants working in the multi-billion dollar construction industry in Arab Gulf countries are shouldering the costs of their own recruitment fees while companies and their clients are reaping the benefits from inexpensive labor, according to a study released Tuesday. Rather than providing an opportunity for decent pay and better livelihood, construction industry practices across the Gulf are pushing workers into extreme debt and exacerbating abuses workers are likely to face, such as an inability to change jobs or move to another country due to indebtedness. Segall and his co-author Sarah Labowitz say construction firms and their Gulf-based clients can help "end the cycle of abuse" by paying for the recruitment costs of construction workers who are needed to build the region's skyscrapers, stadiums, hotels, theme parks and sprawling malls. The study found that governments in the Gulf provide migrant worker visas to multinational and local construction companies for free or at a nominal cost, but Gulf-based agents turn around and sell them at a markup to recruiters in South Asian countries who then pass on the cost to the lowest-paid and most vulnerable workers. The Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, which advocates for business practices that abide by human rights standards, receives funding from NYU's business school, foundations, individuals and companies.
Comment on Study: Migrant workers exploited en route to Arab Gulf
By AYA BATRAWY, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle: World
Mon, 04/10/2017 - 9:23pm
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