Earlier this month The Times of India published a story about an Indian worker, Habib Hussein who escaped Saudi Arabia after months of abuse.
Hussein sold his lands in India to pay for the agent who brought him into Saudi Arabia in the hope of earning a better living for his family. At first, he was…
Archive for the ‘Sponsorship’ Category
Indian Workers Sold Like Animals in Saudi Arabia
January 14th, 2010
Saudi Arabia Slavery Sponsorship
Top 5 Migrants’ Rights Stories in the Middle East for 2009
January 2nd, 2010
Bahrain Housemaids Kuwait Lebanon Legislation MR Site Sponsorship Suicide UAE Working conditions
After spending another year documenting abuses of migrant workers in the Middle East, it’s time that we look back at the most significant, influential and important stories that we’ve covered. 1. Death of Domestic Migrant Workers in Lebanon This story is significant not just because of t...
HRW Overview of Migrant Workers Rights in the Middle East in 2009
December 20th, 2009
Egypt Housemaids Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Legislation Saudi Arabia Sponsorship Suicide UAE
Human Rights Watch (HRW) published last week a summary of the reports and research they’ve conducted over the last year on migrant rights. The end-year report highlighted the lack of protection of migrant workers in many Middle Eastern countries. In Kuwait, the report focused on the Sponsorshi...
List of proposed solutions to insure the rights of foreign maids in Lebanon
December 17th, 2009
Housemaids Lebanon Legislation Sponsorship
The following is a listing solutions and measures meant to secure the fundamental rights of female migrant domestic workers in Lebanon. These proposals have been collected in reports, studies and press releases from Human Right Watch, the International Labour Organization and Caritas-Lebanon. They a...
Kuwait’s Parliament to Vote on a New Labor Law that Grants Migrant Workers More Rights
December 5th, 2009
Kuwait Legislation Sponsorship
Kuwait’s parliament is expected to vote this week on a new labor law for the private sector. The draft of the law significantly increases the rights of most migrant workers in Kuwait. It included limiting the working hours of workers to 40 per week, prolonging maternity leaves and vacations, a...
Two Indian Maids Held Hostage by their Abusive Saudi Sponsor
November 22nd, 2009
Abusive employers Housemaids Saudi Arabia Slavery Sponsorship
The Saudi daily Arab Times published a story today about a sponsor who is preventing his two maids from returning to India until they pay him. Upon arrival to the Kingdom, the maids (whose real names aren't given), discovered that their sponsor had made a deal with a recruitment agency to...
Three months after the Sponsorship system in Bahrain was “scrapped”, what really changed?
November 11th, 2009
Bahrain Legislation Sponsorship
It seems that the pronouncements about “abolishing” the sponsorship (kafala) system in Bahrain were premature. At best, the changing of Bahrain’s labor laws can be described as a easing of the rules. The changes to Bahrain’s Labour Market Regulatory Law, which were made in Ap...
Human Rights Watch Criticizes Bahrain’s Government for not Protecting Abused Workers
November 4th, 2009
Abusive employers Bahrain Legal cases Sponsorship
Human Rights Watch criticized the Bahraini Labor Ministry today for not enforcing Bahraini law against employers who withhold wages and passports from their migrant workers. Instead of helping the workers to recover their wages, the government directs the migrant workers into an arbitration process ...
Bahrain: 38 Indian Workers Protest Against Unpaid Wages
October 25th, 2009
Abusive employers Bahrain Sponsorship
Gulf Daily News reported today that a group of 38 Indian men working for a Manama-based construction company held a demonstration yesterday in front of the Indian embassy in the capital. The protesters said that that their monthly salaries, ranging from 80-90 Bahraini dinars ($210-240), haven’...
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