ABU DHABI —- The Gulf Cooperation Council has determined that the
huge presence of foreign laborers could constitute a threat to the six
member states.
Officials said authorities in GCC states were threatening to lose
control over the huge foreign population in the region. They said the GCC
could be forced to grant foreigners the right to permanent resident and
citizenship.
"The GCC countries need to look at the massive presence of expatriates
basically as a national security issue, and not merely as an economic
matter, particularly in light of global changes and international
conventions," GCC secretary-general Abdul Rahman Al Attiya said.
Addressing GCC labor ministers in late November in Manama, Al Attiya
raised the prospect that foreign laborers would become a protected minority
in Gulf Arab countries. He said the GCC was being pressed to sign agreements
through the World Trade Organization for equal salaries and rights.
"International accords are pressing for the settlement of expatriates
and imposing giving them salaries equal to nationals and greater rights in
the areas of education and health," Al Attiya said. "This new situation
calls for a more rational and more prudent policy by the GCC states in
importing labour."
A report presented at a seminar in Manama on Nov. 26 asserted that the
huge expatriate population has harmed the local labor market and wastes
government funding. The report by Gulf economist Jassem Hussain warned that
the foreign labor population was threatening to overwhelm the indigenous
people of the GCC countries. Foreigners represent more than 75 percent of
the population in two GCC states alone.
"Such a composition is not natural and I support the GCC labor ministers
decision to limit the contracts of foreign workers to six years," Hussain
said.
Officials said GCC states have tried to stem the growth of foreign
labor, which is 70 percent of the work force. Nearly every GCC state has
provided incentives for the employment of their nationals and even banned
the use of foreigners in certain sectors.
In most cases, however, the effort has failed. Officials acknowledged
that GCC states do not have sufficient indigenous skilled labor. In many
cases, the children of rich families don't want to work.
"The GCC countries should resort to expatriate labor only when there is
a deep need for them and there are no local or regional alternatives," Al
Attiya said. "The countries should implement a zero-tolerance policy towards
violators because it is matter of national security."
Officials said GCC leaders were alarmed by the riots by Arab migrants in
France in November. They said the nationwide unrest pointed to the dangers
of a rapidly growing foreign population.
"In this region, as well, in many places, workers are trapped in
horrible conditions, denied justice and their basic humanity," James Zogby,
president of the Washington-based Arab American Institute, said. It hurts
not only them, but the image and the moral fiber of the countries which host
them. You must see them, incorporate their rights into your vision and
defend them."
The United Arab Emirates has the largest percentage of foreign labor.
GCC statistics said foreign labor comprises 88 percent of the UAE's
workforce. In Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman, the percentage
of foreign labor is 83, 81, 72, 55 and 54, respectively.
Nationals from South Asia have been hired in GCC states as manual labor
or domestic servants. Arabs and Indians have been employed in government.
Pakistanis have served in GCC security forces and military.
In 2005, violent protests by Asian laborers erupted in Bahrain, Kuwait,
Qatar and the UAE. In each case, the laborers were protesting their lack of
salaries.
