Human rights and economic development go hand in hand.
Human rights awareness and economic development...Last year, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah gave the go-ahead for a landmark project that aims to raise awareness about human rights throughout Saudi Arabia, with important implications for the Kingdom's future economic development. The king's approval will allow the Human Rights Commission (HRC) to fulfill one of its constitutional obligations. How this is managed will set the agenda in the manner the Kingdom deals with its migrant labor force to ensure a more harmonious relationship between employers and employees to the benefit of both parties and Saudi Arabia. Nothing is worse than for employees to feel that they have been mistreated, and in return, do their jobs grudgingly and half heartedly, thus diminishing the efficient working of the national economy.
The aims of the new HRC body are laudable enough. The commission is also authorized to spread values and a basic understanding of human rights, which correspond with Islamic law. The HRC, through its specialized divisions, will organize courses for personnel of all human rights-related bodies in the Kingdom, and for those who are interested in the field. It also aims to enable both government and nongovernmental sectors to effectively implement relevant policies in line with Islamic values and international treaties and agreements. The project aims to introduce regulations, laws and procedures in the Kingdom that protects human rights. It will also raise awareness about the dangers of human rights violations.
Saudi Arabia has come in for a lot of criticism over cases of mistreatment of mostly domestic labor, extensively highlighted by this newspaper, and has tried to investigate these and punish offenders, maybe not with the speed that some wish for at times. Common humanity and decency should drive it to do so and not international criticisms. What should be noted however is that not everyone in the Kingdom is a menial domestic laborer or maid, against whom these vile mistreatments are meted out, but that Saudi Arabia is also a magnet to all levels of professionals working across many industries, often residing happily in Saudi Arabia for many years. It is rare to hear of abuse cases in these professions, unlike domestic employee cases. This is because Saudi Labor Law is more stringent with companies, and employers are often taken to task through Labor Courts in case of disputes, or maybe because some professionals have better access to lawyers to defend them or counter-sue Saudi employers overseas once they leave the Kingdom.
Just like anywhere in the world, it is the errant cases and the slow bureaucratic decisions that capture the headlines, and not the fact that for many years the Kingdom has been able to manage, in a fairly efficient manner, one of the largest labor migrant movements seen for a country with the population size of the Kingdom. This compares well with countries with far larger populations who seem to have problems of their own, be it disguised racism and discrimination against migrant labor, or the growth of nationalistic elements calling for the outright removal of "foreign" elements from the country.
The Kingdom's ambitious planned mega projects call for more foreign workers coming into the Kingdom to share in this new wealth creation, at a time when many parts of the world are suffering from budget cutbacks, layoffs and a rise in youth unemployment. The 2010 Saudi population Census has confirmed such an increase in the number of foreigners in Saudi Arabia to over 7 million, despite a fairly youthful Saudi population, and a large number of new Saudi labor entrants into the market. How the two groups, underemployed or unemployed Saudi nationals, and foreigners holding on to fixed contract jobs interact in a more harmonious manner that understand the needs of the other, will determine the outcome of how ambitious national projects are executed, and that Saudi Arabia remains a country of career choice for the international professional worker.
One area that can be immediately looked at to stop labor abuse is the issue of subcontracting projects, where the sub contractor often fails to meet his obligations as the recent labor walk out in King Abdullah Financial City bravely highlighted by this newspaper. The principal contractor seems to absolve himself of any responsibility for sub contractor's failings, without realizing there is a strong moral and reputational association of his name with the sub contractor. International companies of repute operating in the Kingdom make expressly sure that the sub contractors they hire can fulfill their tasks, financially and operationally, and the prime contractor takes over moral responsibility for any shortfalls. The fiasco of Jeddah's infrastructure shortfall so vividly exposed by the recurrent floods, illustrates the moral bankruptcy that some prime contractors have sunk to through sub-contracting their work, but without taking any moral responsibility. This is why it seems the Kingdom is now turning to international companies to address Jeddah's infrastructure problems.
In time more stringent government bi-lateral agreements governing the hiring and rights of domestic labor will be implemented, as already happened with some Asian countries, and awareness programs will hopefully reduce the cases of maid abuse, but can never eliminate it, as there are always bad apples in any society. This should not detract from the fact that Saudi Arabia is still a country that workers voluntarily come to work in, and the Kingdom has introduced regulatory changes to meet its international obligations, as the establishment of the HCR demonstrates.
In a perfect world, there would be no need for such commissions. Let us pray that day comes soon, as the basis of Islam is a just one. Who can forget the glorious hadith that expressly requires an employer to pay the dues of a laborer before the sweat dries on his forehead?
© Arab News 2011
