7/23/2020 UAE's migrant workers fret over future in coronavirus economy - Reuters “The global economy is getting worse and it’s affecting each and every business ... I think during this time it’s hard to find any other job.” Slideshow (4 Images) UNPAID WAGES No official statistics of how many people have left the UAE are available. But at least 200,000 workers, mostly from India but also from Pakistan, the Philippines and Nepal, have left, according to their diplomatic missions. Sectors like construction and retail were struggling even before the crisis, which exacerbated hardship for workers already exposed to payment delays. Mohammed Mubarak has not been paid for around 11 months for security work at a Dubai theme park. “The company doesn’t know when they’ll be able to pay us, and we are suffering,” the Ghanaian said. Government coronavirus restrictions that forced many businesses to shutter for weeks began to ease in May. Shopping centres, water parks, bars and restaurants - all staffed by migrant workers - are once again open, raising hopes. Zulfiqar, a Pakistani in Dubai for 12 years, sent his family home early in the outbreak but stayed on hoping for work, sharing a room and what cash he has with a dozen other unemployed men. “Things in Pakistan are also not good,” he said. Reporting by Lisa Barrington, Davide Barbuscia, Aziz El Yaakoubi; Reporting and writing by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Giles Elgood Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. MORE FROM REUTERS https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-emirates-jobs/uaes-migrant-workers-fret-over-future-in-coronavirus-economy-idUSKCN24… 4/11