"Social protection in the Gulf countries: what rights do migrant workers have?"

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The challenges of extending social protection to migrant workers are acutely evident in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), where migrants comprise 75 - 95% of the workforce... the pandemic emphasised its urgency. Gaps in social protection systems left many without any income when they were unable to work due to sickness or pandemic restrictions, or having been laid off during company closures...

The labour market in the GCC is segmented: the vast majority of GCC citizens are employed in the public sector, whereas most migrants work in the private sector... public sector jobs are generally better paid with more generous social protection entitlements for citizens, while social protection in the private sector is typically much weaker.

Many provisions for private sector employees rely on ‘employer-liability’ arrangements (as opposed to social insurance systems)...

Such arrangements may pressure workers not to take sick or maternity leave, or encourage employer discrimination against recruiting or maintaining contracts with workers with declared conditions. Additionally, small enterprises may struggle with the financial implications, creating an incentive to hire workers informally or reducing compliance with provisions...

Alongside these limitations in private sector provisions, social protection provisions are weaker still for migrant workers, since the law often fails to recognise the principle of equal treatment between nationals and non-nationals...

While there have been some positive developments in social protection provisions, there are cases that warrant significant concern...

One such trend is the emergence of mandatory private insurance to extend certain forms of protection to migrant workers...

Of course, policies alone are not sufficient to change the day-to-day experience of migrant workers. To safeguard workers’ rights in a meaningful manner, efforts to extend legal provisions need to be coupled with steps to ensure entitlements are accessible in practice...