13/08/2020
Gulf migrant workers face crisis of unpaid wages amid pandemic
Economy and trade
Aug 10, 2020
The double blow of low oil prices and the
coronavirus crisis has already pushed over
half a million migrant workers out of Arab
Gulf states, figures compiled by Al-Monitor
show.
Returned to their countries of origin in haste,
migrant workers whose wages have not been
paid are unable to defend their rights in the
Gulf’s courts of justice. Their embassies have
come under criticism for largely refusing to
document grievances before repatriation.
Speaking with Al-Monitor, prominent Indian
politician and former diplomat Shashi
Tharoor suggested Gulf states and laborexporting countries “need to evolve a robust
mechanism to monitor and track these cases”
to know the extent of the recurring issue.
On July 25, Tharoor wrote to India’s minister
for external affairs to offer constructive
suggestions. “In my letter, I have advocated
for the development of a single page form
where our citizens leaving the country can
record labor-related grievances,” Tharoor
said.
His move followed an appeal from a coalition
of civil society organizations and trade unions
to establish a transitional justice mechanism
to address the “huge volume” of cases, as well
as a compensation fund to "dispense
compensation" to the victims of wage theft.
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https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/08/gulf-migrant-workers-wages-covid19-qatar-uae-india-nepal.html
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