UAE: Optional inclusion of domestic workers in WPS lacks clarity
January 31, 2022
Labour Rights
Examining how people on the move interact with systems impacting their safety, freedoms, and opportunities. In the GCC, where migrant workers underpin much of the economy, this topic highlights lived experiences behind policies, power imbalances in recruitment and labor, protections and gaps affecting daily life, and efforts to secure dignity and fundamental rights for all.
Country-specific labour and domestic workers rights
Latest articles
Bahrain begins the final phase of its “Wage Protection System”
January 17, 2022
Scheme falls short of adequately protecting migrant workers from wage theft
Nepali women trafficked to UAE, sexually abused and exploited
October 18, 2021
Access to justice at both destination and origin remains elusive
UAE turns a blind eye to rampant abuse of its visit visa; employer-pays model only on paper
September 20, 2021
With Covid-19-related restrictions on formal recruitment, more and more Nepali migrant workers are going to the UAE on visit visas. Though technically legal under UAE law, Nepal’s government bans workers from travelling on visit visas for the purposes of employment. These migrants often end up paying extortionately high fees for non-existent jobs, with none of the legal protections formally recruited workers are entitled to.
Project visas misused to bypass QVC regulations
August 22, 2021
Shopping for domestic workers in the UAE
April 1, 2021
Despite Tadbeer, visit visas, unaccountability, high recruitment fees, and the uncertainty of employment leave workers vulnerable.
Latest In Brief
April 19, 2026
Bahrain shortens summer midday work ban period
Bahrain’s cabinet has recently revised the summer midday work ban for employees working outdoors under the sun, reducing it from three months to two and a half months.
February 15, 2026
UAE Ratifies the ILO Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention
The UAE has recently ratified the ILO’s 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention. While this is a step in the right direction, unless the Kafala system is dismantled, eradication of forced labour would not be possible.
February 14, 2025
Bangladesh intensifies efforts for more labour recruitment to Saudi
Bangladesh is pushing hard to send more migrant workers to Saudi Arabia as the Kingdom prepares for various mega projects, including the FIFA World Cup 2034. Saudi hosts the largest number of overseas Bangladeshis – three million – who constitute the single largest expatriate nationality in the country. Bangladesh continues to accept many of the Kingdom's conditions without critique, despite the financial burden it places on its citizens. Nevertheless, other labour sending countries are likely to deploy similar strategies to get a share of the opportunities that Saudi is likely to offer over the next decade.
August 21, 2024
UAE Amends Specific Labour Law Provisions Concerning Dispute Resolution
The UAE has recently amended its labour dispute procedures, increasing fines for some employment violations and allowing partial payments to avoid legal action. The amendments also transfer jurisdiction for certain violations involving domestic workers.
August 20, 2024
Oman Eases Penalties on Businesses for Labour Law Violations
Oman’s Ministry of Labour recently issued two resolutions enabling employers to pay reduced fines to avoid legal action, and authorising regulators to prohibit employers from issuing or renewing work permits for migrant workers.