Migrant Laborers In the U.A.E. Get Bitched Around, Too

Some striking parallels came to mind when we read an article about the treatment of migrant construction workers who build the high-priced hotels that make Dubai, United Arab Emirates a getaway for the obscenely rich. The South Asian immigrants work shitty hours, earn embarrassing wages, aren’t allowed to unionize, get hurt on the job at alarming rates, will never earn citizenship, and gather at taco trucks while blaring music heavy on the accordion. Other than the fact that foreigners account for 99% of Dubai’s private workforce, the main difference between these guys and their Mexican counterparts in the States is that the federal government has implemented reform regarding their presence rather than completely fumble it.

After several years of unprecedented labor unrest, the government is seeking peace with this army of sweat-stained migrants who make local citizens a minority in their own country and sustain one of the world’s great building booms. Regulators here have enforced midday sun breaks, improved health benefits, upgraded living conditions and cracked down on employers brazen enough to stop paying workers at all.

Well, how bout that? Treating your fellow man with some decency, regardless of his background. What a novelty. Then again, the story goes on to flesh out said ‘unprecedented labor unrest’–strikes that blocked traffic, led to riots, and prompted intervention by the armed forces–and show that the people in charge were only moved to make a change when mobs of angry workers threatened their bottom line. And the parallel comes full circle: Arab fat cats are just as thoughtful as ours.

Fearful of Restive Foreign Labor, Dubai Eyes Reforms [NY Times]
Image [Tyler Hicks / NY Times]