Migration Policy in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States: A Critical Analysis

Abstract

International labor migration is the unique reality of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states. Despite seemingly open migration policies and reforms, the GCC states recently engaged in international and domestic policies to manage the migrant population better. Considering the dependency of Gulf states on migrant labor and the constant increase in migration to these states, this article aims to understand the policies pertaining to the presence, conditions of residence, integration, and socioeconomic rights of the migrant labor force. After an overview of migration trends and patterns in the GCC states, the article examines the migration policy framework that regulates and governs migration in the GCC. It also highlights the recent reforms and initiatives taken by the GCC states and a few sending countries which have impacted the migration flows, migrant rights, and development benefits of migration. Finally, the article concludes with a discussion on policy challenges and provides recommendations as a way forward.

Extending social protection to migrant workers in the region of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC): An analysis of enablers and barriers

“…Freedom of association is restricted in much of the region and channels for representation of migrant workers are particularly limited. Such constraints have been widely documented in the literature (e.g., Babar, 2013; Aarthi and Sahu, 2021; Aboueldahab, 2021; Equidem, 2021), and were similarly raised by key informants in our research, with several highlighting the heavy ongoing restrictions on migrant workers’ ability to organize and advocate for their rights.…”

“…Perhaps the main structural factor limiting migrant workers’ de jure access to social protection in GCC countries is the dominant migration policy framework of the region itself. This framework is designed to enable GCC states to secure foreign labour through a system that frames migration only as temporary residence for employment purposes without the possibility that this may result in permanent settlement or citizenship, with the associated rights and entitlements (Aarthi and Sahu, 2021).…”

“…Nonetheless, key informants and past research also acknowledged the challenges of relying on country‐of‐origin governments for migrant worker representation. Diplomatic missions have limited capacity and are constrained by wider political and economic priorities – including their governments’ financial reliance on GCC countries to absorb excess labour that can in turn generate large remittance flows (Aarthi and Sahu, 2021). Where social protection provisions have been included in bilateral labour agreements, these often serve at best as an additional enforcement mechanism of existing social protection entitlements, rather than as a method of extending new rights to migrant workers.…”

Disentangling the SDGs agenda in the GCC region: Priority targets and core areas for environmental action

“…For example, on non-environmental targets deemed highly relevant, one can cite road traffic accidents as a major cause of death in the Gulf region (Dahim, 2018). The situation of the labor workforce in the immigrationdependent Gulf region is a much publicized debate that includes tackling mobility restrictions of labor (e.g., sponsorship requirements or migration costs), or occupational injuries-all subjects of recent reforms by GCC states (Aarthi and Sahu, 2021). Tourism and its contribution to GDP is a major theme for GCC diversification efforts, with GCC states still dependent on fossil fuel revenues and lacking foreign direct investments (with the exception of the tourism hotspot of Dubai) (Eissa and Elgammal, 2019;Scharfenort, 2020).…”

Inclusive leadership, employee performance and well-being: an empirical study

“…A distinctive feature of the economic landscape of the GCC countries is a substantial reliance on Asian migrant workers, who constitute approximately 40% of the region's population (Zaidan et al, 2019), or approximately 30 million migrants and their descendants (Pag es-El Karoui and Yeoh, 2020). Importantly, the international labor movement was argued to be advantageous for the migration destination countries and the countries of migrants' origin alike (Aarthi and Sahu, 2021). In the latter, it supplies a productive workforce for economic growth and development; in the former, it reduces unemployment and, through home remittances, relieves the economic hardship of the migrant workers' families.…”