UAE, other Gulf states exposing migrant workers to potentially fatal temperatures

COP28 hosts should lead the way to protect workers’ health and lives in the face of alarming projections

Extreme and rising temperatures in the Gulf states are placing migrant workers across the region at acute risk of potentially fatal heat-related illnesses and injuries, a new report from the Vital Signs Partnership has found.

UK’s seasonal agriculture visa scheme exposes migrant workers to serious risk of abuse, say rights experts

Migrant agricultural workers in the UK could face comparable risks to migrant labourers in the Gulf, advocacy groups and experts from the UK, Nepal and Bangladesh warned today.

New report links lack of healthcare access to migrant worker deaths in the Gulf

Research for the Vital Signs Project identifies inability to access healthcare as a likely significant factor in the number of preventable deaths of migrant workers in the Gulf, and lack of documentation and affordability as key barriers.

A coalition of organisations, including NGOs from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and the Philippines, today issued a report on low-income migrant workers’ access to healthcare in the Gulf. The Cost of Living, based on quantitative and qualitative research in the Gulf states and in multiple countries of origin, describes how multiple barriers prevent low-income migrant workers from accessing non-emergency healthcare in the six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Urgent call for action on migrant worker deaths in the Gulf

New report reveals poor data, high-rate of unexplained deaths and a series of cumulative risks to health.

A coalition of organisations, including NGOs from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal and the Philippines, today issued a report on the deaths of low-paid migrant workers in the Gulf states, and called on their governments and those in the Gulf to urgently take steps to reduce the number of unnecessary migrant worker fatalities.

على الكويت وقطر أن تكونا أكثر حزمًا في جهودهما لمعالجة الاستقدام المسيء للعمّال المهاجرين

يناشد التقرير حول ممارسات التوظيف الكويت بأن تحظر كليًا رسوم التوظيف لجميع فئات العمّال المهاجرين، كما يوصي قطر بأن تحمّل أرباب العمل المسؤولية عن أفعال الوسطاء في عملية التوظيف.

Press Release: Nepal should eliminate recruitment fees and increase enforcement capacity to prevent exploitation of its migrant workers

Report into recruitment practices commends elements of government policy but recommends Nepal drop recruitment fee cap in favour of true ‘zero-cost’ model, in line with international standards.

The Nepali authorities should make all worker fee payment illegal and significantly increase their enforcement capacity, as part of a package of reforms in order to ensure fair recruitment, FairSquare said today in a 162 page report into recruitment practices in Nepal, Kuwait and Qatar.

प्रेस विज्ञप्तिः नेपाल सरकारले वैदेशिक रोजगारीको भर्ना शुल्क खारेज गर्नुपर्छ र वैदेशिक रोजगारीमा जाने कामदारको शोषण रोक्न कानुन कार्यान्वयन गर्ने क्षमता बढाउनुपर्दछ ।

भर्ना अभ्यास सम्बन्धी प्रतिवेदनले सरकारी नीतिका केही अंशहरूको प्रशंसा गर्दछ, तर अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय मापदण्ड अनुसार सही अर्थमा ‘शून्य–शुल्क’ हुने गरि नेपाल सरकारले भर्ना शुल्कको सिमा घटाउनुपर्दछ भन्ने सिफारिस गर्दछ ।

आप्रवासी कामदारहरूको अधिकारको विषयमा काम गर्ने गैर–नाफामुखी मानव अधिकार संस्था फेयर स्क्वायर प्रोजेक्ट्स्ले नेपाल, कुवेत र कतारको भर्ना अभ्यासहरूबारे १६२ पृष्ठको प्रतिवेदन जारी गर्दै नेपाल सरकारलाई न्यायोचित भर्ना सुनिश्चित गर्नको निम्ति गरिने सुधारहरूको अंशको रूपमा कामदारहरूले तिर्ने सबै शुल्कलाई गैरकानुनी बनाउन र यस प्रावधानलाई कार्यान्वयन गर्ने क्षमतामा उल्लेख्य वृद्धि गर्न आह्वान गरेकोछ ।

Multi-country study urges wealthy states to take the strain to ensure fair recruitment of migrant workers and prevent abuse

“Five Corridors” Report into recruitment practices in nine countries urges destination states to do more to incentivize fair recruitment, and calls for the end of tied visa systems and discriminatory exclusions from labour protections. Origin states should fully enforce “zero fee” policies for their nationals.

Governments around the world, and particularly governments that host significant numbers of migrant workers, need to take more concerted action to prevent systematic abuses in transnational recruitment processes, a major research study said today. The FairSquare Five Corridors report, based on research in nine countries and five migration corridors, urged states to focus their resources on a series of key priority issues, and urged destination states to assume the burden of incentivizing fair recruitment models.

Five Corridors Project on fair recruitment – launch event

Event: Launch of Five Corridors Project on fair recruitment

FairSquare and the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) are holding a joint event on Wednesday 7 July 2021, to discuss the fair recruitment of migrant workers. “Destination, Destination, Destination”: What governments can do to ensure fair and ethical recruitment will take place on the day FairSquare publishes its Five Corridors Project, a major research study.

Qatar and FIFA should respond to boycott calls with action

In light of an investigation by The Guardian newspaper which detailed a troubling rate and number of unexplained migrant worker deaths in Qatar, FairSquare is calling on the Qatari authorities to put in place a series of protective measures to better protect the lives of low-paid migrant workers in the country.