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| Foreign construction workers stage rare protest in Dubai over pay | |
| (2 days later) | |
| Several hundred south Asian migrant workers have held a rare protest in the heart of Dubai’s ritzy downtown, temporarily blocking traffic. | |
| The workers, dressed in green construction outfits and matching hardhats, were demanding higher wages for their work on the Fountain Views development, a project by the Dubai-based Emaar Properties to build high-end apartments. | |
| Dubai police said on Twitter that they had resolved the issue in less than an hour after talking with the workers. Riot police were called in but no arrests were made, according to the United Arab Emirates-based newspaper the National. | |
| Such protests are unusual due to the kafala, or sponsorship, system for workers in the Gulf, which ties their legal status to a sponsoring employer, and Tuesday’s stand by the labourers was even more remarkable for its location on Financial Centre Road. | |
| The construction site of Emaar’s Fountain Views development is nestled there, between the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, and The Dubai Mall, one of the world’s largest malls both developed by Emaar. The downtown area is a tourist destination and one of the most upscale, pristine neighbourhoods in Dubai. | |
| Related: Dubai's skyscrapers, stained by the blood of migrant workers | Nesrine Malik | |
| The protest highlighted the stark wealth gap between the area’s visitors and residents and the poor workers building it all, who hail mostly from Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and India. | |
| Millions of South Asian workers provide the manpower to build high-rises, shopping malls, roads and other mega-construction projects throughout the region. Most come to the Gulf in search of more money to send back to relatives. Human Rights Watch estimates there are more than five million low-paid migrant workers in the Emirates alone. | |
| Emaar said its contractor for the project had been given clear guidelines to ensure industry best practices.“Emaar is taking this matter seriously and have highlighted the incident to the senior management of the contractors to ensure that matters are resolved” as early as possible, the company said. |