How missions can help workers better

Khaleej Times can confirm some missions have adequate funds, but nothing is heard during a labour crisis.

Missions of countries in the UAE and expat communities must create a transparent welfare system to assist workers abandoned by bankrupt companies. This will provide much needed relief for labourers, who will have an emergency fund to bank on if they are left in the lurch by their employers.
The need for a sound welfare system has become urgent in light of the dire conditions of 220 workers of an Ajman-based company, who are wilting in the heat for six months now. Food is scarce and they are running short of supplies because they haven't been paid by their employers. One worker died of heat stroke and there is no money to repatriate the body to his home country, according to our report. The body has remained in a morgue for 13 days because no one has come forward to pay for its repatriation.
We owe it to these workers, mostly from South Asia, for toiling in the sun to construct the high-rises we live in, for laying new roads and developing other infrastructure that make expat lives comfortable in the UAE. Many workers have paid touts and middlemen to come to the UAE in the hope of a better life. But they have no social security cover to speak of.
Mercifully, local communities have pitched in and rushed food and other supplies to the workers, but a system must be put in place to ensure such situations do not arise, and these men do not have to go out with a begging bowl.
Khaleej Times can confirm some missions have adequate funds, but nothing is heard during a labour crisis. A surcharge is collected on every transaction we make at embassies and consulates.
How about listing all collections and their usage online? While greater transparency alone will not avert incidents like the one in Ajman, it will prompt greater soul-searching and support from the community.

• Unpaid for over 6 months, Ajman workers starve

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