“All that glitters is not gold and all that promise will never come true”

Thousands of people from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the other developing countries dream about securing a dream job in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. This tiny Sheikdom in Middle east surrounded by the oil rich other Sheikdoms is known for its lavish lifestyle and high-rise modern building and futuristic infrastructure. It lures many people across the world to have an exciting career. Indeed few people do make it to the top and make their future, but the majority of the people will end up disappointed with its exploitation and manipulations by the employers. Unskilled and semi-skilled workers are the most affected and live a life of a bonded slave. However, over 80% of the workforce consists of these unskilled and semi-skilled workers. They live in cramped porta cabins or rooms sharing space with 10 to 15 other workers with unhygienic conditions.
The discrimination levels are very high in UAE. Arabs and Muslims will always be favored against others.
Its not surprising that if you are a non-Arab your junior will get more salary than you and better living conditions provided by the employer. Even the yearly salary hikes will be better for Arabs as compared with the non-Arabs.
If exploited laborers protest or strike against their employers then they are faced with arrests and deportation. These laborers pay almost $1000 to $2000 USD to the employments agency in their country to seek job in gulf, but these workers are hardly able to recover that amount even after two years of continuous employment. The workers are paid min AED 400 to AED 800 ( $109 to $218 per month salary ). They work for minimum 12 hours everyday and most of the time the employers will not pay overtime wages for work done more than 12 hours. The worst situation is of the female housemaids. They work almost 24/7 and will be paid approximately $250 per month and have to undergo harsh living conditions and torture. These expatriate workers dont have any choice as their consulates will not fight for them if any case registered and even before any complaint can be lodged the workers will get deported. Furthermore, these workers come from third world countries and live in a state of poverty back home, they dont have much choices and eventually have to face the hardships of Dubai life.







