Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
The Israeli Walla! website: We are running out of stockpiles, our forces are exhausted, and the lives of the captives are in danger. It is time for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Several wounded in an Israeli bombardment of a tent in al-Mawasi, south of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli media: Three wounded, three killed in an ongoing operation in the Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in southern Lebanon: Israeli artillery shelling targets the outskirts of the town of Shebaa
Al-Qassam Brigades: The targeting took place at the intersection of 'Street 5' with the western line north of Khan Younis
Al-Qassam Brigades: A NIMR armored personnel carrier carrying an Israeli soldier was targeted with an Al-Yassin missile north of Khan Younis
Israeli media: At least two soldiers killed by anti-tank missile fired at Israeli army forces in the Gaza Strip
Local Syrian sources: Mortar shells fell on more than nine villages in the Sweida countryside
Local Syrian sources: Dozens of dead and wounded have arrived at Sweida hospitals as a result of ongoing clashes at several locations in the western Sweida countryside
Local sources: Civilians, including children and women, were injured in the al-Maqous neighborhood of Sweida, in Syria, as a result of ongoing clashes

The Guardian: Migrant workers in Qatar forced to pay billions for job recruitment

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 1 Apr 2022 13:46
5 Min Read

An investigation by The Guardian found that migrant laborers in Qatar are being forced to pay billions in illegal "recruitment fees".

  • x
  • Many of the workers go to Qatar in search of higher wages for these families, but some end up as indentured servants
    Many of the workers go to Qatar in search of higher wages for these families, but some end up as indentured servants

Migrant workers in Qatar have been forced to pay billions of dollars in recruitment fees to secure their jobs in Qatar over the past decade.

An investigation by The Guardian found that Bangladeshi men that have migrated to Qatar between 2011 and 2020 have paid close to $1.5 billion in recruitment fees. Nepalese migrants, meanwhile, are estimated to have paid possibly more than $400 million between mid-2015 to mid-2019.

Added to these are the fees paid by migrants from other labor-sending countries in Africa and South Asia, as they also have to pay high fees to recruitment agencies.

Read more: Qatar Neglects Women After 'Traumatic' Airport Searches

Around a third of Qatar's 2-million strong workforce is made of migrants from Bangladesh and Nepal, who pay fees ranging from $1,000 to $1,500 for Nepal, and $3,000 to $4,000 for Bangladesh.

These workers typically have to work for at least an entire year just to pay off their "recruitment fees" on a wage that can be as little as $275 a month. Many of these workers are employed on World Cup-related construction projects, as Qatar is the host of the upcoming World Cup.

It was revealed last year that 6,500 migrant workers have died in Qatar since the country won the right to host the World Cup in 2011. The number of deaths is expected to be higher than this, raising concerns about workplace security and conditions, especially since many of these deaths were not investigated by Qatari authorities. 

Corruption

The charging of these fees is illegal in both Qatar, as well as Nepal and Bangladesh (beyond a certain limit). 

Typically, the fees are paid to agents in the workers' home countries before they leave, and usually very early on in the recruitment process. Since the amounts charged are exorbitantly high, and the recruits are promised relatively well-paying jobs, many of them have to take out high-interest loans or sell their land to afford them.

Related News

'Israel is no longer an asset, it's a problem': The Telegraph

Iran in talks with Gulf States to expand cross-border energy exchange

The workers are thus left vulnerable to debt bondage - a modern form of slavery -, as they are unable to leave their jobs until the debt has been completely repaid.

The vast majority of the workers are often victims of deals between employers and agents in Qatar, and the chain of recruiters and brokers in Nepal and Bangladesh who are there to profit out from every additional worker they send. 

Some of those party to the corruption in Qatar even secure visas to recruit workers, and then demand kickbacks ranging from $300 to $500 for each worker from the agents in exchange for each visa. The cost is then passed on to workers.

A Qatar Foundation report said: “The costs borne by workers … are essentially ‘bribes’ demanded (extorted) by recruitment agents to secure the jobs in Qatar for which they enter into debt with high-interest rates.”

The Qatari government claims companies involved in these practices have been severely punished, and 24 such agencies have been shut down.

No release, even in death

Bangladeshi workers pay the highest fees by far. One example is that of a welder who was promised a monthly wage of $686, but was taken out to the desert and put to work on a farm for $220 a month. He had taken out a high-interest loan to secure his employment.

With him (and others) being constantly put to work, deprived of electricity or air-conditioning, and forbidden from leaving the compound, he was not allowed to return home until he begged for permission to visit his sick mother. Back in Bangladesh, his debt ballooned up to more than double the original amount, and he was forced to take out additional loans to pay off his original one.

One other example is that of Mahamad Nadaf Mansur Dhuniya from Nepal, who took out a loan with an annual interest rate of 48% to pay an agent who promised him a construction job in Qatar in 2018. He was hoping to earn money to look after his family, and for his daughter's dowry. Amid all these pressures, he was found hanging in his workplace last year.

His debt has now passed on to his wife, Mairal Khatun, who earns close to $75 a month; not enough to pay off the $1,236 debt and its interest. 

“I have a lot of tension now. Before, we sometimes ate meat and milk but we’ve stopped now. How can we afford these things?” Khatun said. “I can’t sleep at night.”

Migrant workers aren't only left to suffer in Qatar, as it seems this is an issue prevalent in other Gulf countries as well. 

The UAE is the most prominent offender. A Reuters report revealed that the UAE acknowledged that it had detained and deported over 400 people for alleged human trafficking, assault, and extortion. Many workers had their belongings completely confiscated by their bosses and deported.

Read more: Human rights group: Dubai Expo 2020 a hotbed for labor exploitation

A group of human rights organizations also revealed in a report on March 12 that up to 10,000 migrant workers from south and south-east Asia die every year in the Gulf region.

  • Migrant workers
  • Gulf
  • Gulf states
  • Qatar

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS