For the past year, critics and journalists have condemned New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) for the apparently deplorable living and working conditions of the migrants building its campus on the ironically named Saadiyat—or “happiness”—Island. According to last year’s New York Times article on the subject, workers have had their passports and bank cards withheld, and they’ve been paid less than half of what they’ve been promised (assuming they’ve been paid at all). Less than two weeks ago, the New York Times published another article reprimanding NYUAD, this time citing a 72-page report by Nardello & Co. that detailed specific infringements of United States and Abu Dhabi labor laws. The latter article is less accusatory in tone than the former, and in places it actually applauds NYUAD (and NYU) for its promises to repay the workers who have been shortchanged. I, however, hesitate to express my approval. While I wholeheartedly believe the workers should receive the payment they were promised, including the reimbursement for the recruitment fees they paid before receiving the job, I doubt the laborers will receive their money. According to Stephanie Saul (who penned the April 16th NY Times article), NYUAD has hired a third party to handle the reimbursement. For a western company, verifying which employees paid recruitment fees and determining the amount of these fees would prove challenging, as the western company would most likely be unfamiliar with the particulars of the labor system and require some sort of proof-of-payment, which is exceedingly difficult for the workers to acquire. If the company is Middle Eastern, there’s a possibility that the politics of the Middle East might affect the investigations and cause the company to either falsely claim payments have been dispersed when they have not been or simply haul its reimbursement procedures to protect its own position in society. Logistics aside, paying the employees who have already been wronged is like sticking a Band-Aid on the issue. It’s an act that says, “We apologize for the inconvenience,” without making an attempt to solve the root issue. Without serious attempts to reform the kafala system (the sponsorship system in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which essentially bonds workers to their employers, preventing them from moving freely between jobs), employers will continue to mistreat migrant workers in the UAE. The UAE itself actually has laws prohibiting child labor, making safety provisions, and limiting the permissible number of working hours to a maximum of 9 hours per day, plus overtime, but these laws are difficult to enforce and employers often ignore them. This situation, though, is not unique to the Middle East. In the United States, “employers are all too willing to take on undocumented workers and exploit them for their willing to work long hours for low pay” (The Guardian). In China, the hukou system, which is essentially a system of internal residence permits attaching citizens to particular cities or rural areas, makes it difficult and at times impossible for Chinese nationals to receive health insurance and educate their children in the cities to which they’ve migrated. Even NYU Shanghai is under fire for the violation of workers’ rights (either that or the New York Times has a personal vendetta against NYU). All around the world, migrant workers have taken on a sub-human status. Of course, it is not solely New York University’s responsibility to look after the well-being of migrant workers. To be sure, the university should do its best to care for those involved and building and maintaining NYU’s campuses and dorms, but ensuring the well-being of migrants at large is an enormous endeavor. Both enterprises and governments should together to strengthen the protections for this disadvantaged group. The United Arab Emirates has a 90% adult literacy rate (according to UNICEF), a 0.001% mortality rate (which indicates an excellent health care system and a low violent crime rate), and a lot of natural resources (which means a lot of money), all that’s missing is a cultural attitude willing to make changes. The change should come not in the form of violent dissent (dissent is illegal in the UAE anyway), but in the form of quite changes: supplier countries refusing to send workers, employers placing more importance on good moral behavior than on their wallets. Migrant workers are, after all, human beings, and they deserve the right to be treated as such. Further Reading: Enforcing Migrant Workers’ Rights in the United Arab Emirates; The Nardello & Co. Report This article was written by Sarabi N. Eventide. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit:Nardello & Co