Guest workers in the Gulf

Approximately 15 million expatriates live in the Arab states on the Persian Gulf, from a total population of under 40 million. While many are from other Arab countries, the single largest country of origin is India. The region's local elites are rapidly building infrastructure, importing labor for jobs in construction, housework, and other fields, including skilled labor in oil, education, and engineering.

In order to enter a Gulf country, one must be sponsored by an employer or university. After this, there is little accountability to ensure that the worker receives his wages and is treated fairly; employers can violate workers' human rights by confiscating their passports or providing inadequate accommodations. Unions and protests are nearly unheard of; if a guest worker participates, he is customarily deported without a trial. Recently, domestic workers reporting abuse by their employer have been falsely charged with crimes and imprisoned.

For more information on the political situation of guest workers in the region, see http://bit.ly/givteJ; to learn more about the human rights of domestic workers, see http://bit.ly/9rPsmS.