This photo taken on Nov 19, 2020 shows the skyline of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, with a view of Burj Al Arab (right) and Burj Khalifa (center), the world’s tallest building, in the background. (GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP)

Arab nations have called for a fairer assessment of the labor markets in the Middle East, while pledging to continuously do their part to ensure an inclusive recovery and improve the situation of local and migrant workers in the region.

During a speech at the 17th Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting, or APRM, of the International Labour Organization last week, Sameer Nass, who represented the employers’ delegate from Bahrain, said there was a “double standard” on how the Arab countries were being treated regarding the bylaws set by the ILO.

In the past, workers needed permission from their employers to leave the country. Now, workers can leave the country freely and have the ability to change jobs

The United Nations labor agency is not taking into consideration the viewpoints of “minority countries” that have received imported labor or migrant workers, and where such workers constitute the majority of the local workforce, Nass, who is also the chairman of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said on Dec 6.

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He said in Gulf countries like Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar, where a high percentage of the workers are from the expat community, the workers receive almost 3.5 times in basic salary than what they would get in their own countries, “plus all kinds of protection”.

Despite that, “we hear a lot of … negative news regarding how badly treated” the workers are in the region, said Nass, voicing anguish at what deems as unfair accusations.

ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo had said the ILO and Qatar authorities had been in discussions on improving the conditions of migrants since 2014 and that “we have to recognize a lot has been done”. He also said they are in their next phase of cooperation. 

The APRM, which ran from Dec 6 to 9 in Singapore, concluded with delegates committing to promoting social justice and decent work for all. 

Labor markets in both the Asia-Pacific and Arab States recorded a partial rebound from the impact of COVID-19, but conditions are expected to remain difficult into 2023 in regard to prospects for investment and economic growth, and full labour market recovery remains elusive, according to the ILO.

Nass noted that Qatar’s “international sports projects” that have been developed in Doha were established by international companies, including “the Italians, the French, the British and the Germans”.

“They built the infrastructure there. They employed these workers, and (then) they point the finger on the (host) countries. And the same goes with other countries in the Gulf countries,” said Nass, referring to criticism in the West of Gulf worker conditions.

At a press briefing on Dec 8, Max Tunon, head of the ILO office in Qatar, said Qatar has made “significant progress” in improving the condition of its migrant workers, noting that one of the most important policy reforms has been a change in the nation’s kafala, or labor sponsorship system, in 2018. 

In the past, workers needed permission from their employers to leave the country. Now, workers can leave the country freely and have the ability to change jobs. This gives workers more power to negotiate for better wages and working conditions.

Among other initiatives, Qatar has also adopted a non-discriminatory minimum wage and created a wage protection system. 

Speaking to China Daily on the sidelines of the APRM, Nasser Al Jaryad, chairman of the Saudi National Committee of Workers’ Committees, said his organization has been making sure that all rights of the workers “will be respected”.

“As a worker representative, we saw many laws which needed improvement. We sit with the governments of the region. We talk about how we can improve these laws and how can we standardize them (at the) ILO and how … this standardization should be respected in our region,” said Al Jaryad. 

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Tariq Haq, senior employment policy specialist at the ILO, said compounded crises — from the pandemic to the geopolitical and regional conflicts, plus inflation woes — have created “very different circumstances” for countries in the Middle East.

Higher “oil prices may have benefited, to some degree, the fiscal revenues of the Gulf countries, so it’s created a situation where there are more resources to be able to expand on, (for) provision of social protection, access to employment, and decent work”, Haq told China Daily.

But economies that do not benefit from the rise in oil prices and have been dealing with inflationary pressures — places such as Lebanon, Jordan and the Occupied Palestinian Territories — have seen the lives of the workers and their families affected significantly. 

Nass, from Bahrain, assured at the ILO event that Gulf states “protect the expat workers because they are our assets”, and went on say: “We add value, and also we are a huge contributor to their home countries and hard currencies.” 

Prime Sarmiento contributed to this report.