Investors urge companies to tackle modern-day slavery in Gulf

The £3tn group, which is spearheaded by manager CCLA and includes the likes of Brunel, Aviva, Schroders and M&G, has written to 52 multinational companies that operate in Gulf nations requesting details on how those companies safeguard migrant workers.

Debt bondage occurs when migrant workers, many of whom have to take out exorbitant loans at high interest rates in order to pay recruiters and middlemen, lose the ability to pay off those loans. 

Combined with the practice prevalent in many Arab states of employers confiscating the passports of migrant workers — as well as the kafala sponsorship system that prohibits migrant workers leaving their jobs and in some cases the country without permission from their employer — and those who lose their jobs, whether to coronavirus or to some other cause, are left in positions of indentured servitude or even slavery.

Andy Hall, an independent migrant worker rights specialist focusing on Asia and the Gulf, and working out of Nepal, said: “I have seen at first hand the negative impact that recruitment fees and associated costs can have on migrant workers’ lives. Migrant workers are sold a dream of a better life that can quickly turn into a nightmare.

“This situation, often resulting in modern-day slavery, has been exacerbated by Covid-19 and local laws. Investors, as the end-owners of companies, can play an important role in pushing companies to develop better processes to identify and provide remedies to victims of debt bondage and forced labour.”

The letter, signed by Brunel et al, asks whether the companies use any labour outsourcing companies or migrant workers within their operations in the Gulf states. 

“If so, it asks for information on how they work with these agencies. It also asks for details about the policies and processes in place to identify, reimburse and provide other forms of remedy to migrant workers who have been impacted by recruitment fees and/or passport retention,” according to a press release.

Migrant workers, many from the poorest parts of Africa and South Asia, make up as much as 50 per cent of the population of Gulf nations as a whole, though in some cases, such as Qatar, that figure can exceed 80 per cent. 

In some instances, migrant workers comprise 90 per cent of the workforce, according to estimates by Migrant-rights.org.

That the treatment of migrant workers in many Gulf nations amounts to modern-day slavery has long been known to human rights organisations but receives comparatively little attention in the west, despite its renewed focus on racism and slavery. 

In 2014, the International Trade Union Confederation estimated there were 2.4m foreign workers employed as domestic staff in just five Gulf nations without the protection of labour rights. 

And in 2018, the Walk Free Foundation’s Global Slavery Index estimated there were 500,000 victims of modern-day slavery in the Gulf, of which 67 per cent were subject to forced labour.

However, the report’s authors stressed that the limitations of the study, conducted only in Arabic (which a majority of foreign workers do not speak) and only in some nations, meant that the figure was likely to be a gross underestimate. 

Faith Ward, chief responsible investment officer at Brunel, said: “While investors are increasingly interested in the impact of environmental, social and governance factors on the financial performance of companies, we have to make sure that we are also delivering real-world, positive change. 

“I hope that this letter encourages companies to investigate their labour supply chain and provide strong safeguards for migrant workers.”