RIGHTS BODY CLAIMS WORKERS EXPLOITED AT UAE ISLAND PROJECT

By Muin Abdul Majid

DUBAI, May 19 (Bernama) -- Human Rights Watch (HRW) has claimed that
thousands of South Asian migrant workers building a multi-billion dollar island
development in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) face exploitation and abuse.

This was contained in its 80-page report titled "The Island of Happiness:
Exploitation of Migrant Workers on Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi" released Tuesday.

It pointed an accusing finger at labour supply agencies, construction
companies and repressive laws.

The rights body urged international institutions planning to open branches
on the island, such as the Guggenheim Museum, New York University and the French
Museum Agency (responsible for the Louvre Abu Dhabi), to urgently obtain
enforceable contractual guarantees that construction companies would protect
workers' fundamental rights on their projects.

"These international institutions need to show that they will not tolerate
or benefit from the gross exploitation of these migrant workers," said Sarah
Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at HRW.

HRW said workers from countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh had been
building the island's infrastructure since Abu Dhabi formed the Tourism
Development and Investment Company (TDIC) to oversee the project in 2005.

The report by the New York-based organisation found that while the UAE
government had moved to improve housing conditions and ensure the timely payment
of wages in recent years, many labour abuses remained commonplace.
-- BERNAMA