By Nykoel Dinardo
Senior Desk Officer, Middle East
NEW YORK, New York – On May 19, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report titled The Island of Happiness: Exploitation of Migrant Workers on Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi. The report claims that migrant workers hired to help build Saadiyat Island of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are being mistreated.
Saadiyat Island is a 27 square kilometre island off the coast of Abu Dhabi. In May 2009, the UAE intended to break ground on huge construction projects to take place on the island, including 27 hotels, outposts of the Guggenheim and the Louvre, and a campus of New York University. Hundreds of migrants workers have been hired to work on these projects, as well as others, including the leveling of the island itself before construction can begin. However, according to HRW, these workers are facing harsh, unreasonable work conditions, poor housing and health conditions, and have no legal remedies to address these problems.
Many migrant workers get to the UAE through employments agencies. These agencies often charge outrageous fees, in some cases equaling as much as four times a year’s wages. Migrant works borrow money from family in some cases, but often they borrow money from high interest rate loan companies. By the time the workers arrive in the country where they want to work, they are already in so much debt that they are forced to accept any work conditions in order to work a wage high enough to pay off their loans. Although hiring workers through these agencies is illegal under UAE law, there is little enforcement.
Because workers have no power to negotiate their contracts, they are forced to work twelve hours days in temperatures over 100 degrees Farenheit, with high humidity. After a long day of work, a worker takes home an average of $8 US per day. According to HRW, the average salary of a foreign worker is $2575 US; however the average per capita income is $30,000 US. HRW states that many companies cut costs by keeping overtime wages below the legal requirements.
Furthermore, HRW claims that companies are also preventing workers from getting better jobs by illegally confiscating their passports. These companies threaten workers with deportation should they look for a better job. Although this practice is illegal, HRW says that the workers they interviewed explained that the practice is universal on Saadiyat Island. Migrant workers are also unable to get representation from outside groups because the UAE does not recognize non-governmental organizations that may aid the workers.
HRW has asked the UAE to reconsider its labor laws and to improve enforcement. They also ask the UAE to implement programs to improve workers’ awareness; they explain that, as long as workers are unaware of their rights, workers will be taken advantage of by companies.
For more information, please see:
Financial Times – Plight of Abu Dhabi Workers – 20 May 2009
Human Rights Watch – The Island of Happiness – 19 May 2009
Human Rights Watch – UAE: Exploited Workers Building ‘Island of Happiness’ – 19 May 2009
Telegraph – Workers on Luxury Island ‘Exploited and Abused’ – 19 May 2009
United Press International – Rights Group Blasts Abu Dhabi Project – 19 May 2009
