Around 500 migrant workers, mainly from Turkey, Syria and Egypt, went on strike at a construction project recently in Mecca protesting against unpaid wages. The workers claimed that they had not been paid for two months.
The Saudi government is investing heavily in developing infrastructure, apartm…
Archive for the ‘Workers’ Category
500 Migrant Workers on Strike in Mecca
May 23rd, 2010
94 Nepalis working as ‘Bonded Labourers’ for Libyan Construction Company
May 13th, 2010
Ninety-four Nepali construction workers in Libya have appealed to the Nepali government to rescue them immediately, saying that they are being forced to work in inhumane conditions, according to this article, which appeared on the front page of yesterday’s Republica (English language daily in ...
April 2010: Another Bloody Month for Migrant Workers in Kuwait
May 8th, 2010
Migrant workers continue to commit suicide at an alarming rate in Kuwait, as a close examination of Kuwaiti papers for the month of April 2010 shows. During this time period, there have 12 reported cases of suicide and suicide attempt by migrant workers in the emirate. Previously, during 35 surveyed...
Saudi Sponsors Punish Their Workers by Declaring Them as “Runaways”
May 6th, 2010
Abusive employers Saudi Arabia Sponsorship Working conditions
Below is a letter we received from the president of the Federation of Kerala Associations in Saudi Arabia (FOKASA). FOKASA is a social organization of Indians working in Saudi Arabia that regularly provides assistance to Indians deprived of their human rights. The letter brings to attention an issue...
Modern-Day Slavery in Saudi Arabia: Abused and Unpaid Maids “Rented” for Profit
May 5th, 2010
Abusive employers Housemaids Saudi Arabia Slavery
A severely abused Indian maid managed to procure a cellphone and contact the Saudi paper “Arab Times”, sharing her harrowing tale. The maid, “Amina” (not her real name) began working for a family living in Ahsa in the Saudi Eastern Province almost a year ago. Soon after the m...
Four Domestic Workers Commit or Attempt Suicide in Bahrain in One Week
May 4th, 2010
Within a week, two housemaids have ended their lives in Bahrain and two have attempted to do so. Bahrain does not offer protection to domestic workers under its labor laws. On April 30, the Gulf Daily News reported that the body of Samantha Kumud, a 37-year-old Sri Lankan maid was found hanging from...
Lebanon: One more Ethiopian falling from the balcony
May 4th, 2010
Al-Akhbar newspaper reported today the death of Ethiopian maid Wilana Sbsay, who “fell” from the balcony of her employers in Antelias, north of Beirut. According to reports, Al-AKhbar said, she threw herself from the balcony.
Migrant Domestic Workers in the Middle East: Exploited, Abused and Ignored
April 30th, 2010
Abusive employers Bahrain Housemaids Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Legislation Racism Rape Saudi Arabia Sponsorship Suicide Trafficking UAE Working conditions
A new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report about the rights of migrant domestic workers focused heavily on the Middle East, and for a good reason: most regional governments do not include domestic workers under the protection of its labor laws, and the current regulations leave domestic workers open to e...
Interview with Kesang Tseten, maker of ‘In Search of the Riyal’
April 26th, 2010
Gulf Interviews Kuwait Qatar Working conditions
Kesang Tseten is a film maker based in Kathmandu who has worked on a number of projects documenting the lives of Nepali workers in the Gulf. He is currently working on Saving Dolma, a documentary about migrant workers in Kuwait. Kesang met with Migrant Rights editor Sophia Furber in Kathmandu to dis...
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