Stranded Between the UAE and Pakistan – Migrant Construction Workers Walk a Tightrope Amid COVID-19

MISHAL KHAN, SARAH ELEAZAR and GOWTHAMAN RANGANATHAN (University of Texas at Austin) 

PAUL LYONS (Northeastern University) 

July 2020

As the global pandemic swept across the Persian Gulf, low-wage migrant workers from Pakistan employed at various construction sites in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were left stranded. International flights came to a halt, and workers who had either completed their contracts, were dismissed from their jobs, forced to take leave, or experienced lapses in their immigration statuses were forced to remain in lockdown. The construction industry in Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) countries employs an estimated 10 million workers, most of them migrant workers from South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Government statistics report that prior to the pandemic, 1.5 million Pakistanis were employed in the UAE alone. Construction work is one of the main sources of work for migrants in the Gulf, and thus a lifeline for millions of dependent family members who rely on wages earned by these migrant workers.

As the crisis of jobless and locked down workers grew, the UAE government ordered migrant sending countries to take back their nationals. Facing mounting pressure from media and human rights groups documenting the alarming conditions faced by migrant workers in labor camps, the Pakistani government acquiesced. Thus began a panicked rush towards repatriation as over 60,000 Pakistanis registered with the Pakistani consulate demanding to return home, many having to draw on their own funds to purchase their return ticket. The Pakistani government especially arranged repatriation flights to carry fleeing Pakistani expatriates back home. However, reports emerged that between 50-80 percent of workers alighting these packed flights tested positive for COVID-19. The Pakistani-UAE migration corridor thus became a COVID-19 “hotspot.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT

On this page:

Key Insights and Further Research

Annotated Bibliography

Key Insights and Further Research

Migrant Labor as Development Strategy

Dependence on wages earned in the UAE and the remittances they generate makes it incumbent on Pakistani migrants to keep coming back to construction sector jobs even in the absence of proper legal protections, decent working conditions, and in the face of the dangerous conditions created by the pandemic.

Lack of Government Accountability among either the UAE government or the Pakistani government demonstrates how much of this migration corridor is being driven by private sector actors that may or may not adhere to international regulatory standards.

South-South Global Inequalities

Oil rich countries depend on cheap labor from Asian countries in order to keep their economies running, and rely on superior bargaining power in this political relationship to keep wages low, and workers permanently in precarious labor arrangements.

• • Migrant workers in the UAE and other GCC states are prohibited from forming unions or other labor organizing activities.
  • Pathways to citizenship and permanent residence are almost nonexistent for low-wage earning migrants.
  • The Kafala system is a key part of maintaining these global labor regimes in their current form, and guaranteeing private capitalists access to labor with limited regulatory oversight.

Regular and Irregular Migration

More research is needed to make clear the complex relationship between the multiple regular and irregular migration options available to workers in the construction industry. 

• • What role do informal networks play in providing support for migrant communities when state actors fail?
  • How do these networks inform each other in practice, blurring the boundaries between legality and illegality?

Racial Regimes

How do histories of racialization, including a long history of commodified labor in the form of the slave trade, and other variations of free and unfree labor between the Middle East and South Asia, shape the current conditions of workers in the GCC?

• • What role do internal forms of kinship, racial, and caste exclusions play as push factors creating the need to migrate for certain populations in the first place?
  • How are South Asian workers in general, and Pakistani workers in particular treated as racialized subjects in Arab states and how do these racialized structures affect labor, immigration, and policy regimes?

Annotated Bibliography 

Sections

Construction/Labor in Pakistan

Human Rights Abuses in UAE Construction

Legal Regime – Gulf-South Asia Migration Corridor

Migrant Workers During COVID-19

Construction/Labor in Pakistan

Ahmed, Ishfaq, Mohammad Shaukat, Ahmad Usman, Muhammad Nawaz, and Sajid Nazir. “Occupational health and safety issues in the informal economic segment of Pakistan: A survey of construction sites.” International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics 24, no. 2 (2018): 240–50.

• This study explores health and safety issues in the informal construction sector within Pakistan. The study is motivated by a desire to cover this under-reported yet substantial part of Pakistan’s economy (all construction workers accounts for only 12.3 % of non-agricultural labor, 15.2 % of whom are employed in informal sites). The study finds very high incidence of health and safety violations and inadequate reporting mechanisms.

Government of Pakistan. Labour Force Survey 2017-2018. Islamabad: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 2018.

• This is an annual report of labor statistics produced by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics for 2017-2018. The data included in the report is broad and broken down into many detailed segments.

Lefebvre, Alain. Kinship, Honour and Money in Rural Pakistan: Subsistence Economy and the Effects of International Migration. London: Routledge, 1999.

• Classical ethnographic study focusing on two village communities in Punjab, Pakistan, looking at the causes/push factors of migration to the gulf, transformations in the local village level economy, and a profile of different migrant groups.

Human Rights Abuses in UAE Construction

Human Rights Watch. Building Towers, Cheating Workers. November 11, 2006.

• This report from Human Rights Watch documents abusive conditions faced by workers in the UAE. Those concerns found to be the most common for migrant construction workers included: extremely low wages typically withheld by employers as “security”; large debts incurred to recruitment agencies; and wage theft. The report also addresses the ineffectiveness of UAE government channels to respond to abuses and the lack of comprehensive data in this area. 

Khan, Themrise. “Labour migration governance in Pakistan: Protecting Pakistan’s overseas labour migrants.” South Asia @ LSE Blog, June 3, 2020.

• This blog article discusses the Pakistani state’s policy of favoring emigration for workers, including the legal framework adopted to facilitate migrant labor flows. The article also focuses on the key characteristics and traits of the desirable Pakistani workforce.

Barnett, Adam. “One year to Expo 2020, UAE’s construction industry must do more to tackle abuse of migrant workers.” Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, October 21, 2019. 

• This pre-pandemic article includes a link to a briefing by the Business and Human Rights Resource Center on the ongoing failure to provide adequate assurances of migrant worker rights in the context of development for the 2020 Expo in Dubai. The article also includes a link to the Gulf Construction Tracker, which maintains ongoing data on construction projects relying on migrant labor in the GCC region.

Toppa, Sabrina. “Pakistani Migrants: A Tightrope Between Opportunity and Disappointment.” MigrantRights.Org, March 20, 2018.

• This pre-pandemic article documents the struggle of several Pakistani migrants working in the GCC region as well as the social drivers contributing to the precarity of Pakistani migrant workers, and the economic motives that support migration.

Saraswathi, Vani. “Structured to Perfection: Racism in the Gulf.” MigrantRights.Org, April 11, 2020.

• The piece argues that racism is prevalent in the Gulf states and contributes to the exploitation of migrant workers.  This article focuses on the ethnic differences in the treatment between different minority groups.   

Legal Regime – Gulf-South Asia Migration Corridor

Motaparthy, Priyanka. “Understanding Kafala: An archaic law at cross purposes with modern development.” Migrant-rights.org, March 11, 2015.

• This article provides an overview of the Kafala System and locates it in a historical context. It also provides responses to frequently asked questions about the Kafala system, while evaluating the presence and dominance of said system in different regional contexts.

“UAE’s resolution to stabilise private sector employment gives businesses a free hand on contract change.” Migrant-rights.org, April 2, 2020.

• A report on the UAE’s Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) Ministerial Resolution No (279) that allowed changes to employment contracts. This resolution increased the vulnerability of workers in the post pandemic situation.

International Labour Organization. “Occupational Safety and Health Country Profile: United Arab Emirates.” Last Accessed September 22, 2020. 

• This website lists the roles and responsibilities of institutions involved in labor and employment issues in the UAE. It discusses the processes and scope of labor inspections in the UAE and the provisions of labor law that protect certain categories of workers.

International Labor Organization. “Building Responsibly – Labour Law Factsheet: United Arab Emirates.” August 2019. 

• This summary is based on the provisions of the Federal Law 8/1980 (referred to hereafter as the “Labour Law”) and has been supplemented by various ministerial resolutions and decrees. It should be noted that some UAE free zones, e.g., Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Free Zones, Jebel Ali Free Zone, fall outside the Labour Law’s scope and therefore are subject to separate employment regulations. Furthermore, this Labour Law does not apply to certain categories of workers, including employees of the federal government and government departments of the UAE, employees of municipalities and federal and local public authorities and corporations, employees recruited for federal and local government projects, and domestic workers.

International Labor Organization. “Review of law, policy and practice of recruitment of migrant workers in Pakistan.” March 11, 2020.

• The report assesses laws, policies and practices in labor recruitment for foreign employment in Pakistan. It maps all the legislation and policies that go into the recruitment practices and analyzes them in the context of ILO’s General Principles and Operational Guidelines for Fair Recruitment (GPOG) criteria.

“Changes to UAE Labor Law.” Migrant-rights.org, March 13, 2016.

• This report focuses on three decrees issued in UAE changes labor regulation. New changes included a standard work contract, new conditions for terminating a contract, and new procedures for work permits. The standard contract, as per these new rules, must specify wages, remuneration, dates of contract, nature of work, and location of employment.

International Labour Organization. “Labour migration, skills development and the future of work in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.” July 20, 2018. 

• This report maps the demand and supply patterns and trends for migrant workers in GCC countries, in particular, those from Asian countries. It explores sectoral demand for migrant workers in the context of economic, labor market and demographic trends. It recommends the kinds of skills and training required for these workers.

International Labour Organization. “From Pakistan to the Gulf region: An analysis of links between labour markets, skills and the migration cycle.” September 30, 2016.

• This report focuses on the role of skills training, certification, matching and recruitment processes in Pakistan. It should be read in conversation with the report above. It studies the links between labor demand, relationship to skills and how Pakistan should respond to the changing demand for skills in GCC countries. 

International Labour Organization. “The cost of migration: What low-skilled migrant workers from Pakistan pay to work in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.” August 23, 2016. 

• This report charts the entire cost of the journey and process of becoming a migrant worker. Its findings include the unequal distribution of the cost borne by the worker to be able to travel to Saudi Arabia and the UAE in search for work.

Irudaya Rajan and Ginu Zacharia Ooommen, Asianization in Migrant Workers in the Gulf Countries, Singapore: Springer, 2020.

• Edited volume profiling case studies focusing on different GCC countries, and the role of long term shift of GCC reliance on migrant labor from South and East Asian countries, and the GCC’s global role as one of the most significant labor importing regions in the world.

Migrant Workers During COVID-19

Cornwell, Alexander. “Gulf’s migrant workers left stranded and struggling by coronavirus outbreak.” Reuters, April 14, 2020.

• This article contains contemporary reporting of the conditions faced by migrant workers within the UAE during the pandemic response as of April 2020. The article covers both government responses as well as charity group efforts to provide relief.

“Half of migrant workers returning from the UAE have Covid-19, says Pakistan.” Middle East Monitor, May 6, 2020. 

• This short article provides contemporary reporting of the high rates of infection among repatriated workers leaving the UAE. It also discusses the geopolitical implications of the mass exodus of workers that refused to evacuate.

Migration Data Portal. “Migration data relevant for the COVID-19 pandemic.” Immigration and emigration statistics, last updated September 18, 2020.

• This page discusses key insights and trends from data collected on migrants during the Covid-19 pandemic from around the world. The page briefly discusses specific trends in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region including connections to remittances flowing back to sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The page also discusses trends in return migration, including to Pakistan and South Asia more broadly.

Bukhari, Zulfi. “Over 21,000 Pakistani expats from Gulf region laid off amid COVID-19.” Arab News PK, April 25, 2020.

• This article provides contemporary reporting on the economic losses of Pakistani migrant workers during the pandemic. The article features the responses of Pakistani Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari. The article pays particular attention to the issues faced by Pakistanis stranded in the UAE and highlights the unique economic challenges presented by a largely unutilized workforce.

“Pakistan Begins Repatriating Laborers Stranded In U.A.E.” RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, May 28, 2020.

• This article provides contemporaneous reporting on the repatriation of Pakistani migrant workers from the UAE, including the UAE’s threat to review labor policies with Pakistan if repatriation flights were not sent. 

Greenfield, Charlotte. “Pakistan concerned at workers returning from UAE with coronavirus.” Reuters, May 5, 2020. 

• This article provides contemporaneous reporting on the repatriation of Pakistani workers from the UAE. The article includes documentation of the UAE’s stated policy of testing workers before they depart and refusing to allow them to travel if positive. 

Human Rights Watch. “Pakistan: Workers Face Health, Economic Risks.” April 1, 2020.

• This is call for economic support to low-income households within Pakistan in order to alleviate hardship and support social isolation. The article focuses on the garment industry and lack of organized labor organizations and its impacts on Pakistani workers. It also highlights the impact of the absence of pertinent contract law and employment contracts in general.

Perera, Sampath. “Pakistan “reopening” much of its economy as COVID-19 cases and deaths spike.” World Socialist Website, May 28, 2020.

• This article provides critical reporting on the Pakistan government’s decision to reopen the economy. The article includes several pertinent statistics on cases and deaths at the time. The statistics reflect a dire need to consider the continuing impacts of COVID-19 on Pakistanis in urban and rural poor contexts.

Toppa, Sabrina. “Fast fashion: Pakistan garment workers fight for rights amid Covid-19 crisis.” Guardian, May 27, 2020.

• This article documents police resistance to labor activism in the garment sector in Pakistan as well as the garment sectors reaction to the pandemic by accelerating layoffs of workers. Examples are from Karachi.

Motaparthy, Priyanka. “UAE’s revised visa extension rules place migrants in precarity.” Migrant-rights.org, March 11, 2020. 

• This report covers the extension of visas that were granted by the UAE, their subsequent revocation, and the impact of this measure on workers after the onset of COVID-19. 

“UAE not “making it happen” for its migrants.” Migrant-rights.org, April 28, 2020. 

• This report covers the measures taken by the UAE government during the COVID outbreak which increased the vulnerability of workers. The article focuses on the financial losses of migrant workers and their inability to secure their own food and shelter because of actions taken by both employers and the government.

Greenfield, Charlotte and Alexander Cornwell. “Pakistan concerned at workers returning from UAE with coronavirus.” Reuters, May 5, 2020.

• This is a report about returning migrant workers testing positive for COVID-19 in large numbers. The article has some key quotes about the Pakistani governments acknowledgement of the large numbers of COVID-19 cases.

“Pakistan starts repatriating UAE-based nationals stranded by coronavirus.” Straits Times, April 19, 2020.

• This is a report of Pakistan starting the repatriation process under threat from UAE to review labor relations if Pakistan failed to repatriate.  

International Labour Organization. “The cost of migration: What low-skilled migrant workers from Pakistan pay to work in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.” August 23, 2016. 

• This report charts the entire cost of the journey and process of becoming a migrant worker. Its findings include the unequal distribution of the cost borne by the worker to be able to travel to Saudi Arabia and the UAE in search for work.

Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition. “Labor Supply Chains in the Arab Gulf, Building Back Free-er.” GLC Webinar Archive, June 26, 2020.

• Webinar bringing together activists and researchers to analyze the impacts of COVID-19 on migration to the Gulf. Shifts our attention from commodity supply chains to labor supply chains and the crisis of the pandemic on housing, infection rates, and the widespread prevalence of wage theft.