mafiwastafor workers' rights in the United Arab Emirates
Our complaint to the International Labour Organisation
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Facts and Figures.jpg)
Links to general facts and figures sites can be found at the bottom of this page. What follows here is an analysis of these facts and figures as they pertain to the migrant population of the UAE. We have attempted to paint the picture in broad strokes, with links to original sources. If you feel any of our data is misleading or just plain wrong, please don't hesitate to get in touch and we'll send you a free 'Dubai:Where Luxury and Slavery go hand in hand!" car sticker.
Population
The population of the UAE is expected to reach 5 million in census reports that were due out in February 2006 but have yet to see the light of day. No official figures exist but it is generally accepted that the breakdown of the population is roughly as follows.
There could, therefore, be as many as 2.5 million unskilled migrant workers in the UAE. (Not all of the unskilled workers hail from south Asia - there are a signifcant proportion from north Africa, although again it is impossible to specify exact figures as they have never been released.)
Economy and Wages
The growth in the UAE's economy, partly fuelled by the soaring price of oil, has been quite phenomenal. Abu Dhabi claims to have the highest GNI/capita in the world - $46,150. In February 2006 the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce announced average per capita income to be $29,175. Gross Domestic Product grew from $70.6billion in 2000 to $125 billion in 2005. Last year Dubai's economy grew by 16% - that's nearly double that of China's. And it seems the boom will continue. The Economist Intelligence Unit forecasts for 2006 and 2007 makes for splendid reading (provided you're an Emirati).
The chart below shows the relative GNI/capita of the UAE, the UK and the south Asian countries which are home to the UAE's migrant community.
GNI/capita date from the World Bank . The UAE has not submitted official figures to the database. Our figures for the UAE come from figures they released in the local press. (The UAE government, while not explicityl controlling the press, uses it as a mouthpiece for declarations, changes to law etc).
Our argument is very simple. To base wages and conditions on the relative weakness of a migrant worker's native land, rather than the strength of the economy in which they work, is blatant exploitation. The oft-heard argument that these workers chose to take the jobs and the bleats of 'they're better off than they would be at home you know' show an ignorance of the true nature of exploitation; choice and exploitation, far from being mutually exclusive, are more often than not bedfellows. This is the exploitation of entire societies - to cite individual choice as a justification for the appalling treatment of migrant labours is as callous as it is facile.
We've taken the average salary of an unskilled worker as $150, which is more or less correct. The national average is actually the Abu Dhabi average (a small error we will correct as soon as possible), as reported by the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce is $2431. They do not state whether or not this is for UAE nationals or for the entire population. EIther way, it's a shocking statistic.
Politics and Oil
The UAE comprises 7 semi-autonomous Emirates, of which Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the wealthiest and most well-known respectively. Abu Dhabi, home to 94% of the country's oil and gas reserves (many of them offshore) is the heart of the nation. Its ruling family the Al-Nahyans control the government. The President (Shaikh Khalifa), both Deputy Prime-Ministers, the Minister of Interior, the Minister of Presidential Affairs, the Foreign Minister, and the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research are all Al-Nahyans. The country's second most powerful family are the Al-Makhtoums of Dubai who own, amongst other things, Emirates Airlines and Madame Tussauds. Sheikh Mohammad of Dubai, is widely credited with the succesful diversification of Dubai's economy.
According to Oil and Gas Journal (1/1/05), the UAE contains proven crude oil reserves of 97.8 billion barrels, or slightly less than 8 percent of the world total. Abu Dhabi holds 94 percent of this amount, or about 92.2 billion barrels. Dubai contains an estimated 4.0 billion barrels, followed by Sharjah and Ras al-Khaimah, with 1.5 billion and 100 million barrels of oil, respectively. The UAE's current OPEC production quota (effective March 16, 2005) is 2.40 million bbl/d, and its current crude oil production as of April 2005 is 2.50 million bbl/d. The UAE's total production capacity is 2.50 million bbl/d, so it does not have any spare capacity at the current level of production. Dubai's oil supplies are expected to be exhausted within 20 years.
The vast majority of the country's ongoing contracts, worth an estimated $223 billion, are in the hands of Government entities such as Nakheel and Emaar. That is to say, that the same powerful families charged with setting and enforcing labour laws (they're very good at the former and very very bad at the latter) are also leading the charge to get-even-richer-even-quicker. Further details of this can be found in our complaint to the ILO.
US Government Energy Statistics
UAE Government Energy Statistics
Human Rights
For more detailed information on human rights follow the ILO and Human Rights link above or request a copy of our complaint to the ILO. What follows here is a simple comparison of the rights afforded a migrant worker in his native land compared to the rights afforded a worker in the United Arab Emirates. We have taken as our criteria the 7 core international human rights treaties. 2 points for a ratification and 1 point for an accession. Very crude we admit but it gives you the general idea and almost as importantly it gives us the oppportunity to call this graph The Human Rights League (copyright Dr D Keane, Kilburn).
The UAE has acceeded to, but not ratified, conventions on Discrimination against Women, Racial Discrimination (racial discrimination is ingrained into the very fabric of the nation)and Rights of the Child (until last year, pre-pubescent Pakistani children were effectively kidnapped and forced to work as camel-jockeys). Strikes and trade unions are illegal and unlike most the countries above they have not ratified ILO conventions on freedom of assocation and collective bargaining. (India has not ratified the conventions either, but trade unions exist and prosper in India. Nepal has not ratifed convention 87 on freedom of association.)
Full list of UN International Human Rights treaties
Ratifications by country of International Human Rights treaties
Ratifications by country of ILO Freedom of Association convention 87
Ratifications by country of ILO Collective Bargaining convention 98
To summarise
An unskilled migrant worker - a member of the most populous ethinic group in Emirati society - working to sustain a booming economy that is currently outstripping western Europe and America in terms of wealth, and China in terms of growth, is paid a wage commensurate with a low-middle-income economy and denied the right to strike or to join a workers' organisation. Well, it was his choice to take the job wasn't it?
Further links
Wikipedia Human Rights information
CIA Country Handbook - geographical, economic, social, political information
UAE Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs - offical website including links to UAE labour law
WTO information - trade information
All comments welcome at feedback@mafiwasta.com
Facts and Figures
Everything you ever wanted to know about the UAE
Read about some of the worst cases of abuses in the UAE
Debunking the myth that is corporate social responsibility
Sign the petition for freedom of association in the UAE
"The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use - of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public."
Robert Kennedy