I took a new job recently which put me at a construction site in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The experience has brought me face to face with a disturbing reality: People are being taken advantage of on a grand scale. And I am benefiting from it. You all are, too.
The site I work at is home to 14,000 laborers from various countries. I do mean that it is their home. Here, about 300km from the nearest city, they are housed and fed. They work six days per week, eight to ten hours per day. They are only paid what amounts to 350 USD per month.
That's the story with most workers in this country. Laborers have the worst of it, but occupations like maids, taxi drivers, retail are all extremely low paying, with housing provided by the employer.
My family and I stayed in a hotel for two months while we looked for an apartment. The maid that came to clean our room was the same woman for our entire stay. When we left, my wife gave her a tip in the equivalent of $150 USD. Sure, that seems like a big tip, but the lady had to clean up after our toddler. Big job. That's not really the point. The point is, the woman cried when we gave her the tip. It was "so big" and she was in tears over how generous we were. $150 ain't that much, and it's two orders of magnitude less than the cost to stay there for two months. That money meant so much to her that she was in tears over it. I can't imagine how little she's paid.
One of my taxi drives explained that he had been in the country for eleven months, and he was excited to go home for vacation and meet his daughter. The daughter was eight months old. He left home before his daughter was born to work this *****ty ass job in a country far away, just to be able to feed her. Taxis are dirt cheap here, so I can't imagine how little he's paid, either. He is not unique; most workers in this country that I've talked to send a large portion of their earnings "back home."
Which brings me to the moral dilemma part of this. Despite how bad their conditions are and how little they are paid, these people are happy to be making as much as they are. Happy to come to this country to work thankless jobs that pay enough to feed family back home. Most of them will never know what it's like to go see a movie on Friday night or enjoy a meal at Red Lobster. They'll never own a car or a house or a TV or a Playstation or Magic Cards. They are essentially slaves while feeling lucky to have what they do.
So, my question is: is it wrong? Are they really being taken advantage of if they're happy with what they have? Are the companies that employ these people doing them a favor by only taking advantage of them to the degree that they are?
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"[Screw] you and the green you ramped in on." - My EDH battle cry. If I had one. Which I don't.
Those people have existed in the US as well, they have families and have to work multiple crappy jobs to support their children and don't really get to own "nice stuff." In the past, if you look at the American Industrial Revolution with Company Towns, we had far worse conditions where people were paid in tokens that were only redeemable at a company store that over charged for goods. Immigrants in the US over the centuries have done the same thing, work junk jobs and sent money back to their foreign country to help their family.
Yes, the system sucks and this is why a minimum wage often exists and other progressive policies. While conservatives look at the number of people employed, they neglect the living costs and so forth that allows for better income. High paying low skill jobs or being able to construct companies with none to little entry level barriers are the way to look at an economy with the rule of law. The issue isn't even Abu Dhabi, but rather the home countries that lack the stability to build a real economy where the people have political power to change the system over time.
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As long as the workers are reasonably able to provide for themselves and their families, and (more importantly) able to freely leave their current employment if they stop being able to do so, I wouldn't qualify it as slavery. Are they being taken advantage of? Maybe. I think it's a bit of a grey area, but when they can make a significant lifestyle improvement, it's hard to claim they are being taken advantage of.
Where it gets much, MUCH, worse is in certain areas like Labor. Taking the Qatar world cup for example -- laborers from outside Qatar are required to relinquish their passports as a condition of their visa. Then, they are prohibited from leaving the country wihtout the approval of their employer. All that, AND their Visa is for employment at a specific job. It truly is a situation where the laborer is 100% at the mercy of the company, and the companies are taking blatant advantage of the situation.
TL;DR: If the workers are truly able to make an improvement in their lives, and are free (and able) to leave their employment, then I don't think it's a problem, although it could easily become one.
I had a similar moral dilemma the other day. I professor of mine went to give a seminar on China and there he had access to many data covering the labor conditions on the country and it's much more sadder and depressing then this. I seriously considered not buying anything manufactured there for a fraction of second, until I realize the only thing that action would achieve (at mass scale) would be raising the unemployment rate of a population who's already in bad shape.
Honestly 350 U$ is not that bad, I myself earn only a bit more then that with my schoolarship and I'm here, well fed and playing card games in the weekend. Most people in Brazil (seriously, around 50%) live with less then that and we are among the happiest countries in the world.
Only a century ago the vast majority of people on all countries, even the richest one, was living on conditions far worse then this. I think people from the first world really lost the dimension on how rich some regions there are and most importantly what it took to reach this level of development.
When we left, my wife gave her a tip in the equivalent of $150 USD. Sure, that seems like a big tip, but the lady had to clean up after our toddler. Big job. That's not really the point. The point is, the woman cried when we gave her the tip. It was "so big" and she was in tears over how generous we were. $150 ain't that much,
"Ain't that much"? $150 is an enormous tip. That's a lot of money even by US standards. I'm struggling to think of places where a $150 tip would not result in the recipient reacting shocked outside of a multiple-star-rated restaurant. It certainly isn't customary to tip housekeeping that in the US, where it's generally $2-5 a day. Moreover, I'm not sure what the UAE does in terms of its tipping policies. In the US, we tip for just about anything, but this isn't the case for most countries.
They are essentially slaves while feeling lucky to have what they do.
"Essentially slaves" how, exactly?
Because if they're free to leave their jobs if they choose to, if they're being paid for their labor, and if they are recognized as people and not property, then I'm curious how they're "essentially slaves"?
So, my question is: is it wrong?
Is what wrong? Employing people? Paying them for their services? Allowing them to enter the UAE to find economic opportunities they would never have in their home countries? What wrong is being committed, and who do you believe is perpetrating it?
Are they really being taken advantage of if they're happy with what they have? Are the companies that employ these people doing them a favor by only taking advantage of them to the degree that they are?
How are the companies taking advantage of them any more than your company is taking advantage of you, or any company takes advantage of its employees ever?
When we left, my wife gave her a tip in the equivalent of $150 USD. Sure, that seems like a big tip, but the lady had to clean up after our toddler. Big job. That's not really the point. The point is, the woman cried when we gave her the tip. It was "so big" and she was in tears over how generous we were. $150 ain't that much,
"Ain't that much"? $150 is an enormous tip. That's a lot of money even by US standards. I'm struggling to think of places where a $150 tip would not result in the recipient reacting shocked outside of a multiple-star-rated restaurant. It certainly isn't customary to tip housekeeping that in the US, where it's generally $2-5 a day. Moreover, I'm not sure what the UAE does in terms of its tipping policies. In the US, we tip for just about anything, but this isn't the case for most countries.
He said he was there for 2 months which is roughly 60 days so that's roughly $2.50 a day.
There is a pretty major difference between the situation Dechs describes and the one bLatch describes. I'm with bLatch here, I don't think immigrants being exploited labor but improving their lives is any different than any other labor exploitation going on around the world. The computer you're typing this on was at least partially manufactured by exploited labor. There might even be conflict gold in it.
For an area with low cost of living, these jobs could mean the creation of a middle class (like in China).
This is very different from Laborers being brought in under false pretenses and then kept in a country and kept working at their employer's discretion.
One of the things I look at with Dechs story is with the cab driver. He is happy to be able to go to that country and work for "dirt cheap" to be able to send some money home to his family. He's happy to have the opportunity even though it takes him far from home. Just think of what that means for those people that don't have the opportunity to take that "*****ty" job? The cab driver is not the one we should feel sorry for, the people that are not able to even go to the extreme of moving for work and sending money home are the ones that are in truly *****ty situations.
Fundamentally YES, massive wealth inequities are injust and unhealthy. They serve to make life worse for almost all of us, and provide ripe breeding grounds for terrorism and other atrocities. Those few making billions on the backs of the sweat/blood of the many should stop and think about the kind of world they are leaving for THEIR children, even if it is beyond them to consider the children of others.
That is unfair and I can understand why it shocks you. A lot also has to do with Arab attitudes to work. Although they are often hard working they do not like to do jobs that they feel are beneath them. Most of them would love to own a shop but they do not want to jobs like construction and factory work and the like. I can easily see how the attitudes to the people who then have to do these type of things would be less than satisfactory.
Also the UAE is not as free and fair as what they would like you to believe,. They way Cyril Karabus was handled and the fact that even with its claims of religious freedom a Christian can still not share his faith outside a church does not make it entirely religiously free,.
So you've got migrant workers going from place A where wages were practically non-existent to place B, where wages are subsistence level. I can see why the events at place B are a problem, but I can't understand why they would deserve more focus than the situation in place A, if that makes any sense.
Which brings me to the moral dilemma part of this. Despite how bad their conditions are and how little they are paid, these people are happy to be making as much as they are. Happy to come to this country to work thankless jobs that pay enough to feed family back home. Most of them will never know what it's like to go see a movie on Friday night or enjoy a meal at Red Lobster. They'll never own a car or a house or a TV or a Playstation or Magic Cards. They are essentially slaves while feeling lucky to have what they do.
Huh? It's slavery to be able to feed your family on a job you willingly took because it pays better than whatever else is out there?
Is it a job you willingly took because there were no better options? If someone offered you the choice between a *****ty situation and starving to death, is it really a choice?
I mean, I get it. I think I'm just feeling a portion of the guilt of benefiting from their *****ty situation.
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"[Screw] you and the green you ramped in on." - My EDH battle cry. If I had one. Which I don't.
Is it a job you willingly took because there were no better options? If someone offered you the choice between a *****ty situation and starving to death, is it really a choice?
I mean, I get it. I think I'm just feeling a portion of the guilt of benefiting from their *****ty situation.
... You always take a job because it's the best option currently available.
We all benefit from someone else's *****ty situation. Food is cheap in the U.S. because farm labor is done more or less by illegal immigrants who get paid peanuts. If they got paid wages equivalent to minimum wage, then food prices will likely triple.
We get cheap consumer goods because of sweatshops in third world countries. If they got paid wages equivalent to minimum wage, then consumer goods will probably quadruple in prices.
TC the awful part is the people (or reality) you meet is probabily living better than half of the world population.
Chinise farmers are slaves that cant have more than children.
A lot of womans from East Asia or North Africa seek Jobs in Arabic Oil countries, they end up being slave (or domestic worker as they call it) or sex slaves.
etc, etc.
Short story: yes, you (i mean, we) live in a bauble, and social walfare and foreign aid is a big deal!!
The site I work at is home to 14,000 laborers from various countries. I do mean that it is their home. Here, about 300km from the nearest city, they are housed and fed. They work six days per week, eight to ten hours per day. They are only paid what amounts to 350 USD per month.
That's the story with most workers in this country. Laborers have the worst of it, but occupations like maids, taxi drivers, retail are all extremely low paying, with housing provided by the employer.
My family and I stayed in a hotel for two months while we looked for an apartment. The maid that came to clean our room was the same woman for our entire stay. When we left, my wife gave her a tip in the equivalent of $150 USD. Sure, that seems like a big tip, but the lady had to clean up after our toddler. Big job. That's not really the point. The point is, the woman cried when we gave her the tip. It was "so big" and she was in tears over how generous we were. $150 ain't that much, and it's two orders of magnitude less than the cost to stay there for two months. That money meant so much to her that she was in tears over it. I can't imagine how little she's paid.
One of my taxi drives explained that he had been in the country for eleven months, and he was excited to go home for vacation and meet his daughter. The daughter was eight months old. He left home before his daughter was born to work this *****ty ass job in a country far away, just to be able to feed her. Taxis are dirt cheap here, so I can't imagine how little he's paid, either. He is not unique; most workers in this country that I've talked to send a large portion of their earnings "back home."
Which brings me to the moral dilemma part of this. Despite how bad their conditions are and how little they are paid, these people are happy to be making as much as they are. Happy to come to this country to work thankless jobs that pay enough to feed family back home. Most of them will never know what it's like to go see a movie on Friday night or enjoy a meal at Red Lobster. They'll never own a car or a house or a TV or a Playstation or Magic Cards. They are essentially slaves while feeling lucky to have what they do.
So, my question is: is it wrong? Are they really being taken advantage of if they're happy with what they have? Are the companies that employ these people doing them a favor by only taking advantage of them to the degree that they are?
Pristaxcontrombmodruu!
Yes, the system sucks and this is why a minimum wage often exists and other progressive policies. While conservatives look at the number of people employed, they neglect the living costs and so forth that allows for better income. High paying low skill jobs or being able to construct companies with none to little entry level barriers are the way to look at an economy with the rule of law. The issue isn't even Abu Dhabi, but rather the home countries that lack the stability to build a real economy where the people have political power to change the system over time.
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Where it gets much, MUCH, worse is in certain areas like Labor. Taking the Qatar world cup for example -- laborers from outside Qatar are required to relinquish their passports as a condition of their visa. Then, they are prohibited from leaving the country wihtout the approval of their employer. All that, AND their Visa is for employment at a specific job. It truly is a situation where the laborer is 100% at the mercy of the company, and the companies are taking blatant advantage of the situation.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/25/revealed-qatars-world-cup-slaves
TL;DR: If the workers are truly able to make an improvement in their lives, and are free (and able) to leave their employment, then I don't think it's a problem, although it could easily become one.
Honestly 350 U$ is not that bad, I myself earn only a bit more then that with my schoolarship and I'm here, well fed and playing card games in the weekend. Most people in Brazil (seriously, around 50%) live with less then that and we are among the happiest countries in the world.
Only a century ago the vast majority of people on all countries, even the richest one, was living on conditions far worse then this. I think people from the first world really lost the dimension on how rich some regions there are and most importantly what it took to reach this level of development.
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"Essentially slaves" how, exactly?
Because if they're free to leave their jobs if they choose to, if they're being paid for their labor, and if they are recognized as people and not property, then I'm curious how they're "essentially slaves"?
Is what wrong? Employing people? Paying them for their services? Allowing them to enter the UAE to find economic opportunities they would never have in their home countries? What wrong is being committed, and who do you believe is perpetrating it?
How are the companies taking advantage of them any more than your company is taking advantage of you, or any company takes advantage of its employees ever?
He said he was there for 2 months which is roughly 60 days so that's roughly $2.50 a day.
For an area with low cost of living, these jobs could mean the creation of a middle class (like in China).
This is very different from Laborers being brought in under false pretenses and then kept in a country and kept working at their employer's discretion.
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Also the UAE is not as free and fair as what they would like you to believe,. They way Cyril Karabus was handled and the fact that even with its claims of religious freedom a Christian can still not share his faith outside a church does not make it entirely religiously free,.
Huh? It's slavery to be able to feed your family on a job you willingly took because it pays better than whatever else is out there?
I mean, I get it. I think I'm just feeling a portion of the guilt of benefiting from their *****ty situation.
Pristaxcontrombmodruu!
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wage slave
... You always take a job because it's the best option currently available.
We all benefit from someone else's *****ty situation. Food is cheap in the U.S. because farm labor is done more or less by illegal immigrants who get paid peanuts. If they got paid wages equivalent to minimum wage, then food prices will likely triple.
We get cheap consumer goods because of sweatshops in third world countries. If they got paid wages equivalent to minimum wage, then consumer goods will probably quadruple in prices.
Chinise farmers are slaves that cant have more than children.
A lot of womans from East Asia or North Africa seek Jobs in Arabic Oil countries, they end up being slave (or domestic worker as they call it) or sex slaves.
etc, etc.
Short story: yes, you (i mean, we) live in a bauble, and social walfare and foreign aid is a big deal!!