No Justice for Women or Foreign Workers in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's Treatment of Foreign Workers Under Fire after Beheading of Sri Lankan Maid
THE OBSERVER: The execution of 24-year-old Rizana Nafeek has cast a spotlight on the plight of dozens of migrant workers on death row in Saudi Arabia

More than 45 foreign maids are facing execution on death row in Saudi Arabia, the Observer has learned, amid growing international outrage at the treatment of migrant workers.

The startling figure emerged after Saudi Arabia beheaded a 24-year-old Sri Lankan domestic worker, Rizana Nafeek, in the face of appeals for clemency from around the world.

The exact number of maids on death row is almost certainly higher, but Saudi authorities do not publish official figures. Indonesians are believed to account for the majority of those facing a death sentence. Human rights groups say 45 Indonesian women are on death row, and five have exhausted the legal process.

Figures for other nationalities are harder to come by. Rights groups say they believe there are also Sri Lankan, Filipina, Indian and Ethiopian maids facing the death penalty.

Nafeek's execution drew condemnation from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, both of which have campaigned against the death penalty in Saudi Arabia. They say many migrant domestic workers, drawn to the Middle East by the prospect of employment with well-off families, face abuse.

"Some domestic workers find kind employers who treat them well, but others face intense exploitation and abuse, ranging from months of hard work without pay to physical violence to slavery-like conditions," said Nisha Varia from Human Rights Watch. There are about 1.5 million foreign maids in Saudi Arabia, including about 375,000 Sri Lankans.

An International Labour Organisation report last week warned that an estimated 52.6 million domestic workers around the world lack legal rights and protections. But Varia said Saudi Arabia posed unique problems because legal protections were weaker and the chance of access to justice more remote.

"The Saudi justice system is characterised by arbitrary arrests, unfair trials and harsh punishments," she said. "Migrants are at high risk of being victims of spurious charges. A domestic worker facing abuse or exploitation from her employer might run away and then be accused of theft. Employers may accuse domestic workers, especially those from Indonesia, of witchcraft. Victims of rape and sexual assault are at risk of being accused of adultery and fornication." » | Gethin Chamberlain | Sunday, January 13, 2013

Foreign Workers Surge
MAIL ONLINE: The number of foreign workers has increased by 114,000 in the last year – while people born in Britain continued to lose their jobs.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show workers born overseas were the beneficiaries of the early stages of the economic recovery.

There are now 3.85million workers who were born abroad. At the same time, the UK-born workforce fell by 15,000, to 25.08million. Foreign workers surge by 114,000... but the number of Britons with jobs falls >>> James Slack, Home Affairs Editor | Thursday, August 12, 2010

Oil Workers Protest Against Jobs for Foreigners
THE TELEGRAPH: Hundreds of factory workers protested outside one of the country's largest oil refineries against the use of foreign workers on a multi million pound construction project.

Humberside Police said around 800 people took part in the demonstration outside the giant Lindsey Oil Refinery at North Killingholme, Lincs.

The actions of the workers could spark more protests around the country as the jobless total rises towards two million during the economic downturn and anger mounts against the Government.

Some protesters carried placards repeating Gordon Brown's slogan 'British jobs for British workers'.

Derek Simpson, joint leader of Unite, called for urgent meetings with the Government and employers to discuss the "exclusion" of UK workers from some of Britain's major engineering and construction projects.

"We have a growing problem in the engineering and construction industry where UK workers are being excluded from important projects.

The Government must take urgent action to deal with this situation as tensions are reaching boiling point. >>> By Nick Britten | Friday, January, 2009

TIMES ONLINE: Wildcat Strikes Over Foreign Workers Spread Across Britain

Wildcat strikes spread to oil refineries across Britain this morning as workers walked out in sympathy with industrial action taken against the arrival of hundreds of foreign contractors.

Around 700 staff walked out of the Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland and 400 more staged an unofficial strike at a refinery in Wilton, Teesside as workers lent their support to a three-day strike at the Lindsey oil refinery in North Lincolnshire.

Staff at the refinery in North Killingholme began their wildcat strike on Wednesday in protest at the arrival of 200 Italian and Portuguese staff who were awarded a large construction contract.

There were also signs of the protest spreading to Wales this morning, police were called to Aberthaw power station near Barry after a protest was staged there.

Hundreds of angry protesters are calling on the government to intervene to guarantee jobs for British workers. One of the men on the picket line outside the Lindsey refinery told BBC television this morning that local families were struggling to feed their families while work was given to European workers. >>> Nico Hines and Christine Buckley, Industrial Editor | Friday, January 30, 2009

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