Archive for the ‘General’ Category

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New HRW Report Slams Gulf States for Migrant Abuses

January 26th, 2010

Bahrain Documentation General Gulf Kuwait News Saudi Arabia UAE

Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2010 is out now, and strongly condemns the Gulf states for failing to protect the rights of Migrant Workers. The full report is available here.
The HRW report raises the issues of passport confiscation, abuses of domestic workers and bans on trade unions as ke…

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Indian Migrants Stranded In Afghanistan

January 14th, 2010

Afghanistan General Workers

Dozens of stranded Indian migrant workers have been forced to shelter in a Sikh temple in Kabul after being duped by recruitment brokers according to this story from Reuters. The Indian nationals have been left without money or passports after they were falsely promised jobs in Afghanistan by the br...

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89 OFWs Awaiting Repatriation from Saudi

December 3rd, 2009

Abusive employers General Saudi Arabia Workers

89 Philippine nationals are waiting to be repatriated from Riyadh, Saudi, after quitting their jobs with a Saudi company due to labour malpractices, according to this article in The Enquirer. Their employer, Annabasan Co., reportedly withheld wages and cut payment illegally. The employees were also ...

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Indonesian Government Told to Stop Sending Unskilled Workers Abroad

November 21st, 2009

General News

A group of Indonesian civil society organisations has urged their government to stop sending unskilled workers abroad because they are too vulnerable to abuses by their employers according to this story in The Jakarta Post. Most Indonesian migrants go to the Gulf states or Malaysia for work. Low-sk...

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UN Special Rapporteur Asks UAE to End Racism

October 18th, 2009

General News UAE

Githu Muigai, UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism and xenophobia, ended a recent 5-day visit to the UAE by calling for an end to discrimination against the country’s population of migrant workers. He voiced concerns about the system of granting citizenship, the problem of hu...

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Radisson CSR for migrant workers – kind gesture or missing the point?

October 11th, 2009

Abusive employers General Gulf UAE Workers

An appeal backed by Radisson Hotels raised DH 1 million for construction workers during the month of Ramadan, according to this press release. The ‘Shoe Box Appeal 2009′ called on school children in the Emirates to donate gift boxes filled with basic items such as toothbrushes, nail clip...

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Report on Domestic Worker “Mary” in the UAE

October 7th, 2009

Abusive employers General Housemaids Women

Please check out this video on “Mary”, an East African made abused by her female employer both with beatings, intimidation, and sexual abuse.  Its a really heart-breaking story and the link is below. Al Jazeera Report: Domestic workers abused in the Gulf – 07 Oct 09

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CSR Report Highlights Dire Labour Standards in the Middle East

September 24th, 2009

General News Workers Working conditions

British CSR consultancy Maplecroft has released a report (Human Rights Briefing – Labour Rights in the Middle East) highlighting poor labour standards in the Middle East. The report deals with issues affecting both local and migrant workers, including forced labour, sexual abuse and dangerous ...

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Qatari Company Fires 529 Nepalis – and Fails to Pay Wages

September 14th, 2009

General News Qatar

A Qatari construction company has fired 529 Nepali workers after running into financial difficulties caused by the global recession, according to this article in Nepalnews. The labourers, recruited in Kathmandu through Nepali brokers Trikon Manpower, had not been paid for four months. Pensaltica, th...

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