Study on migrant workers in UAE

Ellene Aclan Sana, Executive Director of the Centre for Migrant Advocacy Philippines (CMA-Philippines), in an interview with Khaleej Times, said: “Migration is a phenomenon and a forced option due to lack of opportunities in one's home country. However, at the end of the day, there is a net positive effect for the individual as well as for the receiving country. That is the reason why migration is persisting. We would like to enhance these benefits, not only the financial side of it but in the area of protection.”

CMA Philippines, she explained, is a member organisation of Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), a regional network of migrant rights advocates in 15 countries and migrant destinations in Asia. Its work focuses on lobby-advocacy for international, regional and national policies that protect and promote the rights and welfare of Asian migrant workers.

“We are not active in West Asia, and so my visit in the UAE is part of an exploratory mission to reach out this particular area, to scan the environment and check on the plight of workers in the region. While abuse is prevalent in the Middle East, it is not necessarily the case in the UAE. This area is different. One has to draw attention to the specificities and particularities of each country,” she said.

Sana said that she was well aware of the problems of trafficking and illegal recruitment of Filipino migrant workers in the UAE.

"We hope to look into the plight of domestic workers in the UAE. According to official reports, there are two million undocumented domestic workers in the Middle East. They are not only Filipinos but include other Asians as well such as Bangladeshis, Indians, Sri Lankans, etc. We would like to get a general profile of domestic helpers here as they belong to the vulnerable segment of the migrant workforce,” said Sana, who is scheduled to meet Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Libran Cabactulan and Labour Attache Vicente Cabe this week.