The Potential for Migrant Workers' Social Networking in the Persian Gulf

According to this article proposed for New Media and Development Communication: Human Rights: New Challenges and Applications from graduate students of the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States, "[t]he plight of migrant workers in the Persian Gulf region has been an issue of widespread concern for several years. A heightened economic and construction boom in the region has meant an increase in the need for foreign labor, mostly coming from Asia and South-East Asia. It is estimated that migrant workers make up 95% of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) workforce." The author describes migrant conditions and proposes a new social network initiative to help migrant workers "to interact with their existing connections, strengthening their weak ties with other workers, as well as other interest groups such as NGOs [non-governmental organisations] or activists".

The author observes that international legal standards such as those in the Office of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families have not been met. "Routine withholding of wages, unsafe labor conditions, squalid labor camps and the illegal holding of the workers’ passports as “security” are only some of the widely-reported issues." Human rights organisations, international news media outlets, and regional news media such as Al Jazeera have produced reports condemning the unfair labour practices and living conditions of migrant workers in the Gulf region.

The situation is not abusive in all circumstances, but migrants are, for the most part marginalised, according to the author: "Whilst the government of the United Arab Emirates has made welcome attempts to improve the situation of migrant laborers, there are still many employers that do not adhere to the country’s labor standards and codes of conduct. The problem is exasperated by the fact that a large number of migrant workers are often unaware of the law and their legal rights, leaving them open to manipulation by employers."

The article concludes with the proposal to use new media to create a social space for migrant workers. The author proposes a network, Gulfconnect.net, to be established in the UAE, similar to a social network for Filipino migrant workers worldwide: MabuhayCity. As stated by the author, "Gulfconnect.net would possess all the qualities of current social networks such as friend connections and discussion forums. However, crucially a [gulfconnect.net website] would contain legal fact sheets translated into Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Bangla, and Malayalam. Also, the site would make rights information available in audiovisual format, for situations where literacy poses a challenge. The project would aim to strengthen and reinforce informal communication as a means of bolstering engagement and a sense of community within this excluded social group."

The UAE Labor Law is already available online and the embassies of the countries of origin of the migrant workers all contain information on legal rights and entitlements.  According to the author, by including this information in everyday language, as well as the original documents, individuals will find it easier to inform themselves of their rights and entitlements. There will also be specially designed fact sheets included, describing the "best" procedures to take in the event of abuse, arrest, and threats of deportation. There will be links to governmental bodies such as the newly established Wage Protection Office (WPO) of the UAE Ministry of Labor, linking this entity to the migrant workers who could benefit from it but are probably not informed of its existence. This information is available if workers search for it. However, by including this information in the same space as an informal communication portal such as social network, the objective is to bridge the gap between informal means of social engagement and vital knowledge.

For a copy of this document or further information, please contact the author through the email address below.

As stated by the author, the idea for this project originated in material created for the 2008 class "New Media and Development Communication" with Professor Anne Nelson, Columbia School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).