Job Discussion Forums

[007]

Some people may argue that Saudi Arabia is in the process of improving it fa�ade, internally and externally, regarding culture, economy, education, human rights, etc, etc., especially after its membership with WTO.

Now the questions is: After joing the WTO, do you think that things are improving in KSA, especially concerning the rights and freedom of millions of �slave labourers� and other sections of life in the magic kingdom?

[Cleopatra]

This topic has come up before, but being as the OP has difficulty reading simple posts, it's unlikely he understood those previous threads, especially if they were posted before any of his previous incarnations came to haunt this board.

The WTO is neither here nor there when it comes to the rights of Asian migrant workers, or any other workers for that matter. It is there to promote what is euphemistically known as 'free trade': ie, the "rights" of multinational corporations to operate without hindrance anywhere in the world. And if there's anything that warms the heart of a multinational CEO, it is the thought of cheap, vulnerable, disenfranchised labour in a country which bans trade unions.

As a MEMRI fan, however, you no doubt will be happy to hear that WTO membership has 'forced' the Saudis to reassure the US that they will no longer enforce the Arab trade embargo on Israel.

[007]

[Cleopatra]

I didn't answer your 'question' because your persistent inanity and poor English skills - not for the first time - got the thread locked.

If you want to know why the Saudis joined the WTO, ask one of their spokespeople, or read the Arabic press - your Arabic reading abilities have to be better than your English skills. And what 'agenda' are you talking about?

[007]

[Cleopatra]

[007]

[Queen of Sheba]

[Sweeney Todd]

If we ask nicely do you think that the WTO would abolish 007?

[007]

[Queen of Sheba]

[Cleopatra]

KSA may have 'improved laws' with regards to migrant workers, but the proof of the pudding is in how those laws will be enforced. I am not at all confident that, when push comes to shove, a Bangladeshi builder or a Sri Lankan cleaner will have any real recourse under Saudi law.

[Queen of Sheba]

This situation is not unlike the abolishment of slavery in KSA which was under Faisel's rule, and arguably done more to please and meet the international demands than to meet any international governing body like the UN or WTO. Its correct to say things are bad and in need of improvement and certainly time will be the best way to see just how far the government is willing to go to end such abusive employment situations. My point is that conditions have improved for such workers recently, and by that I mean the last 10 years. This does not mean that they have solved these problems, and that it�s by any means over.

Yet, it would appear that they are certainly better off than many workers in the UAE, for instance. While human rights organizations are not allowed to research and study cases in Saudi, I am aware of this legal recourse I referred to first hand. Workers can and do take if they are unpaid, for example, because of drivers and maids that my family employs and the actions that we as employers must take. Employees can go and file charges with relative ease with authorities, no matter their nationality. As a matter of fact I know an Asian lady who recently filed such charges. Employers were not always held to such standards in KSA, and therefore it�s clear that conditions have improved. Cases are also less reported here of non-payment and bad living conditions than they are in the UAE, a nation with equally government control over the media. I am merely saying that things used to be worse for workers, and they seem to be improving, I am not sure what it has to do with the WTO and more to do with the international embarrassment and human rights accusations.

[cmp45]

[Sweeney Todd]