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The Role and Impact of Saudi Arabian Government Labor Policies

The Labor Laws of Saudi Arabia provide protection in scarce amounts to the domestic workers in the Kingdom. Most cases are settled through mediation outside the labor court in favor of the Saudi sponsors.  The labor laws clearly stipulate that a worker need not work for more than 8 hours. If he/she goes overtime, he/she needs to be compensated appropriately. It provides provisions for leave of up to 30 days. The Basic Law of Saudi Arabia prohibits employers from securing the passports of their employees to ban them from travelling. These laws are given no regard by the sponsors and violated on a frequent basis. The laws are made to look more or less like guidelines due to norm of workers’ exploitation.   There is no national minimum wage. The Labor Laws do not allow workers to form unions or start protests or strikes. They will be met indefinite imprisonment or deportation.  The Government has not stepped up its efforts to protect victims of trafficking.

2006, 2007 and the 2008 Trafficking in Persons Reports by the United States Department of State designate Saudi Arabia as a Tier 3 country.  A Tier 3 country according to the US Dept. of State is defined as countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards of elimination of trafficking and are not making significant efforts to do so. The Dept. of State also notes that the Government of Saudi Arabia rejects all notions of human rights as defined internationally and sees its interpretation of Islamic Law as the only necessary guide to human rights. According to the HRW regarding Trafficking in Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom continues to exclude domestic workers from its labor laws. The cabinet has not yet passed into law an Annex to the country’s 2005 Labor Law, which the consultative Shura Council approved in 2009, outlining labor rights of domestic workers. The Annex contains no provisions to prevent trafficking of domestic workers across borders, such as requiring the worker’s consent and embassy notification.

Saudi Labour Ministry to Restrict Visa Extension for Expatriates / eventsofthisyear.com
Saudi Labour Ministry to Restrict Visa Extension for Expatriates / eventsofthisyear.com

Employers have significant control over their foreign employees. This situation gives rise to several cases of forced labor, which is a clear violation of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Conventions, 29 and 105, which prohibit forced labor. ILO has repeatedly stated that Saudi Arabian authorities have not formulated legislation implementing the ILO Convention 100 on Equal Remuneration and those regulations that segregation in work places by sex, or limit vocational programs for women violate ILO Convention 111 on Discrimination in Employment and Occupation. Adopted in 1998, the ILO Declaration commits member states (here, Saudi Arabia) to respect and promote principles and rights in four categories, whether or not they have ratified the relevant Conventions. These categories are: freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, the elimination of forced or compulsory labor, the abolition of child labor and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. Saudi Arabia joined the ILO in 1976. Since then it has ratified15 conventions in force but ends up blatantly violating a majority of them in open defiance.

Saudi Arabia has been a member of the World Trade Organization since 11 December 2005. WTO commits its members to recognize a code of set standards such as the freedom of association, no forced labor, no child labor, and no discrimination at work (including gender discrimination). At the 1996 Singapore Ministerial Conference, members defined the WTO’s role on this issue, identifying the ILO as the competent body to negotiate labor standards. Saudi Arabia continues the path of open disregard to these conventions despite being a member.

Lack of Recourse for Expatriates

Many expatriates are put under abusive and extreme conditions every day once they enter Saudi Arabia. As a result some embassies have “safe houses” where the workers can run to. Embassies then try to negotiate their work environment with their sponsors on their behalf but in almost all cases, the workers are returned to their respective sponsors. Once returned, it’s almost a guarantee that their hardships are going to be compounded. The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Labor tries to hear complaints put forward by the expatriate workers. Very rarely do we hear about employers getting punished for their violations. Some victims do not wish to pursue their complaints to court out of fear of retaliation from the authorities and the sponsors. The government offers no legal aid to the victims, and they will not be allowed to work during the course of the complaint proceedings. According to the HRW Report, Bad Dreams, many migrant workers –

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– in the kingdom are uninformed about their rights or, if they are informed, are afraid to exercise them. It is often financial reality that leaves aggrieved workers reluctant to seek recourse from Saudi government entities. Heavily in debt, and desperate for their wages, these workers calculate that leaving their employers for legitimate contract violations and pursuing complaints is simply too costly a prospect.  The Ministry of Social Affairs runs a center in Riyadh that takes in domestic workers who need exit visas, or carry other complaints related to work, compensation, etc. Most of these workers are forced to settle for an unfair package and during the course of the proceedings; they are put in overcrowded facilities. Cases take months to come to a conclusion.

My Recommendations

The Government of Saudi Arabia has an obligation under International Law to respect the safeguards set forth by the United Nations Economic and Social Council which calls for protection of rights of individuals facing the death penalty. Since Saudi Arabia has a severe tendency to cover their capital crimes trials under a thick veil of secrecy, it is strongly recommended that the stated statutes be implemented and respected immediately. This includes the release of information to the public about death penalty cases. The Saudi Monarchy, alongside the Shura Council must take positive steps to ensure the protection of rights of foreign domestic workers under Saudi and International Law. The Interior Ministry must openly work with the various consulates in the Kingdom as per the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and send prompt notifications concerning the arrest or detention of their foreign nationals.

A strong Human Rights watch group must be established that will work with the United Nations to keep a watchful eye on sponsors and to see that the Labor Code of Saudi Arabia is respected to the letter. The Labor Courts must be revamped with the help of International Justices. There must be a separate court for appeals. The Government must take measures to ensure that the sponsors know the right of the workers and that they are thorough in their knowledge regarding the matter. Prosecutions and sentencing must be carried out appropriately and swiftly if a sponsor is found guilty of violations against his/her employee. Women workers must be treated on the same level as a male worker when it comes to realizing and respecting their rights.

Visa sponsorship system must be revamped. The unchecked control of the sponsors must be negated and a separate immigration department must be set in place that handles work visas and immigration proceedings.

Foreign Consulates must take steps to safe guard the interests of their nationals while residing or working in the Kingdom. They must deal directly with the Government and not with the sponsors when it comes to protecting the safety of the foreign employees. Free legal assistance must be provided to expatriates who are under criminal investigation and cannot afford an attorney. The Government must ratify the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. They must comply with the statutes of the International Labor Organization’s Conventions. The United Nations must force Saudi Arabia by all means to abide by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The utter disobedience from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to abide by international laws and conventions and their blatant disregard of basic human rights must be met with stern punishments from the international community. The time has come and gone for publishing “reports” that highlight abuses annually and indefinitely. The Saudi Arabian Government must change their current attitude towards Human Rights. It is high time that Human Rights issues be taken in the same wavelength as nuclear and terrorism issues. The international community needs to do more to address the matter. It starts with governments engaging in serious talks. Rarely do we hear high profile conventions and meetings that focus on State officials discussing human rights and how to impart and enforce these rights by any means necessary.

The United Nations must not be afraid to impose sanctions on countries that show deficiency in respecting human rights. UN needs to have a louder voice in these matters. Countries such as Saudi Arabia need to know that with every international conventions and accords they break, they will be met with equal measures of consequences.

When will we get tired of facing the aftermath of gross violations such as sexual and physical abuse, torture, genocides, ethnic cleansing? The international community needs to work hard to ensure that such drastic events which scar our history must be halted before they ever happen. Hence, pre-emptive measures must be in place to deter countries from violating human rights conventions and protocols and help prevent a future “Holocaust” or a “Rwandan Genocide” or a “Khmer Rouge Ethnic Cleansing” or stop the rise of another “Saddam Hussein” or “Pol Pot” or even bring to a halt on the spread of an ideology such as “Wahabbism” that engulfs a nation such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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