Come Forward in support of Struggling Asian Workers in UAE
Asian immigrant workers in the Middle East ?paradise? UAE, particularly in and around wealthy tourists? hotspot Dubai, revolted against the ever-increasing assaults of the bourgeoisie there. With very scanty info available in Indian English Media today [1st Nov 07] it can be safely guessed that literally thousands and thousands of construction workers took part in a 2-day strike on 27th and 28th October and assembled at a protest meeting or something resembling that. Their action was ?illegal? as per laws of the United Arab Emirates. The very name of the country, above all the word ?Emirates? suggests that the idea of ?democracy? is scarce there as in other desert-covered oil-rich Arab countries ruled by Kings and Emirs. Hence, workers? basic rights and actions like organising and fighting Trade Union struggles, strikes, etc are unimaginable and unpardonable there. But the workers were in a defiant mood being hard-pressed by, for example, gruelling workload at a temperature as high as 45?C [113?F!] under the sun, and ever-decreasing wage + benefit, as for example, staying in shared shanty shelters lacking in many amenities and getting just Rs 6500 a month in all [roughly Rs 250 per day assuming one rest day per week] which is a microscopic quantity, almost a nothing, in that expensive kingdom. The mood of the workers can be guessed from the fact that many workers were spotted by police as ?rioters? who threw stones at police, smashed police-cars, etc; it is indeed a noteworthy matter as immigrants, ?poor foreigners?, generally don?t dare make such scenes in an unknown land so far away from their native country, especially a country under despotic rule and oppressive environment.
So at least 4500 workers were jailed. One can easily imagine the number of police personnel employed to round up 4500 workers, and they were not totally ?peaceful? then!
Media reported cases of such workers who came back earlier facing so difficult a working condition at so low a wage at so far away place ? one construction worker from Kerala came back disillusioned from UAE and joined a construction site at North East India; though Dubai is perhaps not much far-off than Dibrugarh if measured from Thirubanthapurm, but anyway it is in home country! Usually persons not getting employment with a ?decent? wage in India dreamt of going to ?Arab World? to send money back home and return as a well-off after some years, even after deducting compensations for the passage money and payment of job-agencies. What a piece of bad-luck these Globalisation-days begotten! That dream lays shattered. This phenomenon of exploitation of immigrant workers from India or other ?poor? countries abroad is not new and startling in the sense that, for instance, already in July ?05 issue we presented the case of the Indian workers suffering in ?slave labour? like condition in Malaysia in a piece titled ?Slavery in the Global Factory: From Durgapur [West Bengal] to Kota-Tingi [Malaysia]?. But what is heartening is that revolts of Indian and Asian workers have started, and that too in a difficult, stuffy and oppressive social-political environment; we have also witnessed fights of immigrant workers developing in American continent in recent years, not only in the USA like that prolonged and victorious fight of Mexican Immigrant agricultural workers working in the Tomato fields, but also in other ?comparatively richer? Latin countries like preparation of fights of Bolivian garment workers in Buenos Aires in Argentina.
And what a contrast! By extracting surplus labour including super-profit from workers like them, more so from immigrant workers, the super-rich capitalists made Dubai a wealth-man?s paradise and still making superb structures, enormous wealth and a skyline that evokes ?western world?s envy?!
Among 4500 jailed workers, barring the ?rioters? or mutineers all were sent or forced back to work; 159 workers face ?action? that may amount to a jail-term and deportation at the end of that term! The Indian government?s Embassy was ?very kind? enough to ?look at? the case so that the deportation-waiting Indian workers don?t have to spent days in Jail before being forcefully sent back to India!!
Revolutionary workers of India salute the fight of Asian immigrant workers in UAE, voice their protest against the authoritarian regime of UAE, protest any punitive measure taken by employers and government of UAE against fighting workers, demand workers? rights to organise and fight TU struggles in UAE and support their demands of better wages, benefits and better working conditions.
PS: Condition of Indian workers in UAE came again in the Media in early November. On 8th Nov a flyover under construction collapsed killing some 10 Indian construction workers on spot and injuring many. This incident brought home the terrible working condition sans safety measures in which the immigrant workers are to work.
Comments:
No Comments for View