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On an almost daily basis, migrant workers, who come from various parts of the world to seek a better life in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), face serious physical and mental abuse at every step of their migration process.
The UAE’s Ministry of the Interior estimates the number of workers at about 600,000, most of them come from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, the Philippines, and Pakistan.
There have been some positive developments in the UAE in recent years with regard to increasing migrants rights, more particularly female migrant domestic workers. Indeed, a written unified contract for domestic workers has recently been introduced. Its provisions include the following:
duration of contract
salary and other benefits
accommodation
health care
working hours
paid leave
repatriation ticket
dispute settlement
recruitment fees
coordination with concerned embassies
Unfortunately, migrant workers are still not aware of their rights, and if they are, they are often too afraid to file a case against their employers. Financial stress is the number one reason why these workers suffer in silence.
The suffering of male construction workers includes mistreatment,
withholding of payments and passport. However, males workers manage to become part of a community and have social interaction with other male workers. On the other hand, female workers suffer in silence.
The brutal abuse and experience of maids who come from Indonesia and the Philippines:
The abuse of construction workers who come from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan:
Domestic workers are especially vulnerable to abuse given the nature of their work. Their job is done behind closed doors in private. Physical violence, sexual abuse and even death while trying to escape are part of their daily lives. It has been reported that those who do manage to escape have no access to legal services; many become irregular and face deportation when they refuse to go back to their employers, as per the sponsorship system.
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