Essential support Study highlights ‘urgent need’ for enhanced migrant worker social protection in Gulf

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Expanding social protection for migrant workers, who make up a significant portion of the Gulf’s labour force, is essential, a recent study has recommended.

The joint study, conducted by the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, titled “A Comparison of Social Protection Systems in GCC Countries,” highlights the urgent need to address gaps in social insurance coverage to ensure the long-term financial stability and well-being of these workers, who are often vulnerable to exploitation and lack access to basic protections.

Currently, social protection for migrant workers in the Gulf is largely limited to workplace injury insurance.

The study calls for extending this coverage to include comprehensive health insurance, pensions, and protection against aging, disability, and death.

It also stresses the need to include domestic workers, who often operate without any form of social insurance, ensuring their basic rights and long-term security.

The study also sheds light on the challenges faced by informal workers employed in unofficial sectors without formal contracts.

To address this, it proposes the introduction of voluntary or flexible social insurance schemes that would allow these workers to participate in social or health insurance programmes at affordable rates.

This approach aims to gradually integrate informal workers into the formal system while ensuring they receive a minimum level of social protection.