All GCC states implement the kafala system, a visa sponsorship program that gives extensive powers to employers and leaves workers vulnerable to abuse. Domestic workers, primarily women from South and Southeast Asia, are especially vulnerable to exploitation due to their isolation and reliance on their employers. They face a higher risk of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse and their isolation makes it difficult to seek help. When domestic workers attempt to leave without their employer’s consent, they often face severe consequences, including arbitrary detention and deportation. Those who escape are at a higher risk of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
With 88% of migrant workers living in the UAE, the country has the highest population of international migrants in the world. Although the UAE’s labor law prohibits and criminalizes all forms of forced labour, its allegations are often considered regulatory violations in practice and the legislation to regulate migrant workers’ rights is rarely implemented and enforced. The kafala system has provided economic and social advantages to Emirates, thereby the UAE government has ratified only three out of nine human rights international treaties and any attempt to align with international standards and enforce the ratified conventions is very unlikely.
Moreover, the category of domestic workers is excluded from the UAE’s law and also from integrating into society. They do not receive government subsidies for housing, health care, paid sick leave, or other public services. They receive false promises during job recruitment, pay excessive recruitment fees, face wage theft abuses, and work in isolated and sometimes inhumane conditions.
Serious challenges remain not only in the UAE but across the region: Saudi Arabia has engaged in different labor reforms to guarantee more rights to migrant workers, yet they have been insufficient and still exclude migrant workers from the labor law. Tuti Tursilawati, an Indonesian domestic worker was executed in 2018 after she was convicted of murdering her employer while she was defending herself from sexual assault.
In 2015, Kuwait enacted new measures aimed at extending migrant worker policies to domestic workers but the protections offered to domestic workers fall short when compared to the broader labor laws, leaving them at a disadvantage. A significant concern is the absence of clear guidelines for enforcement and labour inspections.
Following the murder of three Filipina domestic workers in Kuwait in 2018, 2020 and 2023, the Philippines imposed a ban on its citizens going to work in Kuwait but discussions for lifting the ban are taking place between the two countries.
In 2020, Qatar experienced some changes in the kafala system allowing migrant workers, including those in the domestic sector, to change jobs without the permission of their employer. The new Qatar’s labour law has reduced migrants’ vulnerability to forced labour and abuse, yet many workers still face bureaucratic impediments and retaliation from their employers.
Both in Bahrain and Oman domestic workers continue to lack the protection of a minimum wage. In 2023, Bahrain proposed a legal upper limit of BHD 120 (USD 320) per month for domestic workers’ salaries and Oman’s new labour law introduced in the same year failed to include domestic workers, who remain governed by a 2004 ministerial decree that denies effective legal protection.
Due to the high number of domestic workers working within the GCC countries, especially women, an applicable legislation relating to the protection of these workers’ rights and freedoms should be established. A few reforms have been initiated but the effectiveness of these measures varies, and migrant domestic workers will be still subjected to forced labour and abuse until the kafala system is completely abolished.
The ADHRB calls on the respective authorities to address the challenges faced by the domestic migrant workers and to carry out a more extensive and coordinated examination of companies and industries that employ this category of migrant workers. Also, the ADHRB urges the international community to denounce this modern form of slavery and pressure the governments of the GCC countries to clarify the regulations’ procedures and enforce their labour protections for domestic migrant workers.
