Migrant domestic workers (MDWs) in the GCC play a crucial role in the functioning of households, providing essential care services for children, the elderly, and disabled family members, in addition to performing tasks such as cleaning, cooking, and gardening. Their labour is also vital to the functioning of Ramadan festivities, as they rise early before dawn and work tirelessly into the evening, often while fasting themselves either because of their faith or due to lack of choice.
The significance of migrant domestic workers’ labour during Ramadan cannot be overstated. The demand for their services surges during this time, leading to a significant increase in recruitment costs. Many companies and agencies providing domestic workers for short-term services, whether by the hour or for a few months, are fully booked during the holy month.
At the same time, Ramadan also sees a spike in absconding cases, with many domestic workers, particularly those newly arrived, struggling to keep up with the gruelling tasks and long hours.
Despite the vital role domestic workers play during Ramadan, Gulf governments have focused their awareness and enforcement efforts on cracking down on fraudulent recruitment agencies that deceive employers—while making little to no effort to uphold domestic workers’ rights or hold exploitative employers accountable.
A week before Ramadan, the UAE’s Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation (MOHRE) shared a social media post titled, “Has your domestic worker stopped showing up for work? Don’t worry, your rights are protected.” The post informed employers that they could recover their recruitment costs from ministry-approved agencies in such cases, adding, “All you need to do is contact us and submit your complaint.”
A few days later, MOHRE announced that it had taken action against 14 recruitment agencies after detecting 20 violations for failing to refund employers when domestic workers absconded, along with two violations for non-compliance with domestic worker recruitment guidelines. The MOHRE also called for employers to refrain from dealing with unlicensed domestic worker recruitment agencies and untrustworthy social media pages.
MOHRE also shared a reminder on social media about the two-hour reduction in workdays for private sector workers during Ramadan. However, domestic workers are not covered by labour laws granting this reduction, and no efforts have been made to encourage consideration of their working hours, which remain set at 12 hours per day under the domestic workers law.
In Saudi Arabia, the official Musaned social media page published a couple of posts on the 10-hour daily work limit in the weeks leading up to Ramadan, though without specifically referencing the holy month. However, since then and throughout Ramadan, its social media campaigns have focused almost entirely on recruitment fraud and warnings against hiring domestic workers through irregular channels.
An example of a Saudi government ad against fraudulent recruitment. Source: Musaned
In Kuwait, closer to Ramadan, the only mention of domestic workers by the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) was a report stating that it had taken action against 14 domestic worker recruitment agencies and registered 418 complaints since the start of the year. However, it remains unclear how many of these cases relate to domestic workers’ rights, as PAM no longer publicly shares segregated data on complaints. In the past, however, most recorded cases were employer complaints against recruitment agencies.
Bahrain and Oman, the two Gulf states without specific domestic worker laws or regulations on working conditions such as hours and days off, have made no mention of domestic workers’ rights in the lead-up to or during Ramadan. Bahrain has only recently announced the closure of a recruitment agency, while Oman issued a warning about fraudulent advertisements circulating on social media, “falsely offering domestic workers at attractive prices.”
Overworked and overlooked
One of the greatest challenges domestic workers face during Ramadan is the relentless workload, with working hours often exceeding the already high limits set by domestic worker regulations—where such regulations exist. Domestic workers interviewed by Migrant-Rights.org reported getting as little as four to five hours of rest per day during this month.
A migrant domestic worker organiser in Bahrain told MR: “Many domestic workers face labour abuse during this month. They work without breaks, cooking and cleaning for large numbers of extended family members. Some households even restrict domestic workers’ access to food during this time as they observe fasting.”
The organiser added, “We stop all activities during this month because those who are fortunate enough to have a day off lose that privilege.”
While Gulf governments must increase awareness of domestic workers’ rights before and during Ramadan, awareness alone is insufficient without regulations that, at the very least, meet the standards set by ILO Convention 189—which has not been ratified by the Gulf states. Moreover, the absence of effective enforcement mechanisms to ensure the application of existing regulations further undermines efforts to protect domestic workers.
For more on the Gulf governments’ continued neglect of migrant women domestic workers’ rights while prioritising employers’ needs during Ramadan, read our previous report here.
Cover image credit: Rachel Deyis (@racheldeyis)
