Explained: Why Are Indian Migrant Workers Dying In The Gulf Countries

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates recorded the most deaths of Indian labourers between 2019-2021, the authorities informed in response to a query in Parliament.

In 2020, over 3,753 Indian staff died in Saudi Arabia and the number fell to 2,328 in 2021. Both the years had been marked by the pandemic, which noticed well-being and employment-related crises for employees other than Covid-19.

What about the other Gulf Countries?

The Gulf countries including The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain have recorded the deaths of Indian workers.

Reuters

With over 35 lakh, the UAE has the highest Indian expat community, recorded at least five deaths every day between 2017 to 2021. The number of deaths spiked from 2454 in 2020 to 2714 in 2021. At the same time, Qatar reported 420 deaths in 2021 and 385 in 2020.

In five years, the death of Indian nationals almost doubled in Oman from 495 deaths in 2017 to 913 deaths in 2021 (630 deaths in 2020). Bahrain reported 352 deaths in 2021 and 303 deaths in 2020.

Qatar is experiencing an inflow of Indian labourers due to development works associated with the upcoming soccer World Cup. The country saw the deaths of Indian labourers at 420 in 2021. 385 Indian workers died in Qatar in 2020.

Bahrain reported 352 deaths of Indian nationals in 2021 and 303 and 211 in 2020 and 1,201 Indian labourers died in Kuwait in 2021.

What are the causes of death?

AFP

There are many reasons behind the death of Indian labourers including dangerous working circumstances. According to a study published in the International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health in 2018, the common cause of their death is cardiac arrest, heart-related problems, road traffic accidents, fall from height, drowning, suicide, stroke and infectious diseases.

According to a TOI report, the high deaths among Indian nationals in Kuwait apart from Covid-19 are predominantly due to lifestyle and harsh working conditions, intense physical and mental stress and lack of medical awareness. Also, debt and stress are also causing deaths in gulf countries.

Death of workers from south and south-east Asia

According to an article published in The Guardian, over 10,000 migrant workers from south and southeast Asia die annually in the Gulf countries.

AFP

The report stated that more than half of the deaths are unexplained and recorded as ¡°natural causes¡± or ¡°cardiac arrest¡±. The Gulf countries are failing to investigate the actual reason behind the migrant workers¡¯ death.

In the Gulf Countries, the low-paid migrant workers are exposed to several risks including heat and humidity, air pollution, overwork and abusive working conditions, poor occupational health and safety practices, psychosocial stress and hypertension.

In fact, long hours of manual labour in high temperatures could lead to heat stress and eventually organ damage.

Over 30 million migrant workers (mainly from Asia and Africa) are employed in the Arab Gulf countries. About 80% of these are employed in low-paid sectors like construction, hospitality and domestic work.

Why do Indians migrate middle-east countries?

AFP

According to the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs report titled International Migration 2020 Highlights, India tops the list for having the largest diaspora population in the world.

Over 18 million Indian people were living outside the place of their birth country. It is significant that most NRIs (7.6 million) live in the Middle East.

While, the Ministry of External Affairs data (2020) showed, that about 13.6 million Indians live outside of India, of which 3,41,000 lives in the UAE. 2594957 Indians in Saudi Arabia, 12,80,000 Indians in the US, 10,29,861 in Kuwait, Oman hosts 7,79,351 while Qatar 7,56,062.

The Indian nationals migrate for education or work and arrive in the gulf, particularly for job opportunities.

Reuters

During the 1970s, with the oil boom in the Gulf and with growing money, the countries started investing heavily in infrastructure and development work. The door to job opportunities opened with this development in the region.

An inflow of migrant workers from countries like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh started especially semi-skilled and unskilled labourers. Lower-class Indians too find it an opportunity to earn money.

At present, however, the labour supply is not only restricted to semi and unskilled labour but also white-collar jobs like doctors, engineers, architects etc.