as-salaam aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
I previously wrote a post: Cheap Labor and Attitudes and I really wasn't seeing the big picture. Most of us Westerners are actually no less guilty. I was thinking I should delete the post altogether but I think I will leave it as a lot of people feel the same way I did and reading both posts may help them also see the bigger picture.
I am from the US as y'all know...and there is a minimum wage, labor laws, unions, etc... all there to protect employees. So basically, the US protects the citizens and legal residents with these laws. And with a minimum wage in place, we cannot imagine someone having to have to work for SO little pay like the domestic laborers (maids, drivers, cooks etc...) and unskilled laborers (office boys, construction workers etc...) in UAE.
But guess what? Most of us Westerners SUPPORT the kinds of salaries, working conditions and living conditions that we think is horrible and that we think UAE is so guilty of.
How you say?
Do you buy products that say "made in China", "made in the Philippines", "made in Mexico" etc.. ?
Then you just might be supporting this very thing.
Do you buy counterfeit designer goods? This industry thrives on slave labor, child labor, extremely low salaries, and horrible working conditions. On top of all that, this industry supports criminals.
Do you research each and every company to make sure they are not under investigation for unfair labor wages/conditions? And even if you are assured their salaries are "fair", does what is a "fair" wage in these countries equal to, or equal more than the salaries of the domestic and unskilled laborers in UAE? For some, it might be, but for many others, its still an even lower salary.
So you see, just because unfair wages, working conditions etc.. are regulated in the US, we are not less guilty if we purchase our goods from people and companies who practice the very thing we think is unfair.
For instance, a shoe company that gives what is a "fair" wage in a poor Asian country, $3 a day (which is why people come to UAE because they can get a higher salary than that, even if it is sooooo little to us), to employees to produce their shoes that cost well over $100 in the US. If the shoe company was in the US, people would throw a fit if they found out the company was paying only $3 a day to the employees. Yet its ok so long as it happens outside of the US? And in other countries a "fair"salary is much less than that!
That being said, it doesn't mean I suddenly think what happens in UAE is all ok. Just that I do know I felt it, and others feel it too--like we are all more "civilized" than Emaratis on this issue. We do the same thing, just pretend to be innocent about it because it doesn't happen in our countries legally.
And also, the laborers are first exploited in their very own countries before setting foot in UAE. It is a bigger problem than just getting UAE to change their attitudes about this issue. If their salaries were increased in UAE, the "fees" they have to pay in their own countries just to get a job in UAE would go even higher, thus continuing the cycle of exploitation.