Introduction
The Middle East countries are those countries in the wider Arab State, also referred to as the Gulf States. They total to eighteen states, some of which include: Qatar, Libya, Kuwait, Egypt, Yemen, Sudan, Iran, Pakistan, and United Arab Emirates (U.A.E), among others. All the Gulf States have their economy characterized by two major factors; Population and Oil.
They are rich in oil, but their indigenous population falls short of the demand of the labor market. Abu Dhabi is listed as one of the largest world producers of oil and among the UAE emirates, is the wealthiest in terms of GDP and per capita income. Abu Dhabi has an approximate population of 420,000 citizens with a GDP per capita hitting a record $63,000, ranking 3rd in the world. Therefore the emirate is rated as one of the fastest-growing economies of the world.
However, the rapid economic growth of Abu Dhabi’s economy has had its own challenges, especially in the labor market, which has attracted many expatriates to fill in the gaps that have been able to be filled by the locals. It is worth noting that the population within the emirate, just like in the rest of UAE, has been quite low to sustain the fast-growing economies.
It is reported that there is a great demand for foreign labor in order to realize continued economic growth. Thanks to the rapid and accelerated economic growth that required extra labor that stretched far beyond the capacity that existed in the labor market. It is, therefore, not a unique situation in the Gulf to find the immigrants, i.e., those who are not native residents by 1981, forming about 50% of their population, out of which 40-75% is economically active. This is huge as compared to those in the European countries where it does not exceed 14 %( Fred 5).
An unbalanced migration has therefore experienced all levels in Abu Dhabi., first; within the states, which has seen the growth of the major towns, and secondly; from other countries, which is basically composed of job seekers. The immigrants have made it possible for the Arab States to dispense their Agricultural and Industrial resources as well as Skills and Education.
Problems Caused by the Economic Development in the Middle East
The Federal Government of UAE, which includes Abu Dhabi, set a new labor policy that placed the nationals of UAE in both public and private sector jobs, which were occupied previously by non-emiratis. This policy that was termed “Emiratisation” focused on achieving a target of at least 30% in employment of the nationals in key sectors like finance. This was because previously, by 2003, according to the planning Ministry in Abu Dhabi, the number of employed local nationals was less than 9% of the total labor force. Most of the nationals were qualified thus were not able to match the demands of the labor market.
It is apparent to say that in any country with less population and a lot of resources, the government of such a country will be forced to import human labor, which has proved to be an impediment to growth and a negative effect on growth. This is a fact that is evident in almost all Middle East countries. The cost to import the professional expertise will prove to be a great huddle that hinders or bars the desired growth rate.
The kind of rushed development witnessed in Abu Dhabi in the sectors of infrastructure, social services, and industry led to some economic bottlenecks. The bottlenecks included port congestion, domestic inflation, and subsequently inadequate labor force (Birks & Sinclair 123). To counter this problem, the emirate government had no choice but to resort to labor import since the available indigenous population was not adequate.
In Abu Dhabi, there was also the problem of the inadequate population but also the lack of active involvement by women in development activities. This absence of women in any development activity was due to the fact that in the Gulf, the society is still conserved in their traditional belief on the role of women [It is a male-dominated society]. Hence the womenfolk are marginalized when it comes to professional jobs. This leaves only men, who are, of course not enough, to be the sole force behind labor provision. “Every male at the age between 20-64 years is economically active.” Women in rural-urban society (Birks, 125).
The individuals who have undergone the formal training are limited and are not able to satisfy the demand. Abu Dhabi is hence faced with an acute shortage of professionals, this poses a serious threat to modern development. With the exemption of only Bahrain, all the Gulf States have low literacy levels. The schools that offer formal and professional training are either missing or not enough for the whole population. Such countries have therefore been forced to import labor. This step of drawing workforce from other countries is also not proving to be tricky. As the affected counties try to fill this gap in their labor market, the countries from which people migrate to join the workforce in the Gulf have begun to put restrictions on this. They consider this a brain drain, claiming that such educated citizens are very critical and a great asset to their own development, thus stunting their own progress.
The sure way that the Gulf States used to counter the problem, in the beginning, was to import labor. This was being carried out with no major regulations restricting the process. But as time elapsed, the number of people seeking to migrate to the Middle East has more than multiplied by several folds. And since the department of immigration is small on top of being inadequate, it can not handle the surging number of visa applicants and border crossing procedures. This has forced the countries to impose some vetting measures and so cut on the inflow of people, thus aggregates further the manpower shortage.
How to Solve the Problem
In Abu Dhabi, the society is mainly male-dominated; there is a need for the creation of women’s awareness campaigns. The campaigns are geared to mobilize women to get out of their perceived setting and get themselves formal education, and eventually join the workforce. The campaigns, on the other hand, also try to convince men to allow their women to take up the jobs as well stop discriminating against them.
Encouraging the growth of other sectors of development like agriculture and industrial development other than oil will be an added advantage. Oil has been reported to be temporary and may be short-lived. They should also note that not all the entire population will be interested in the oil business, so to appear attractive even to the indigenous countrymen and women, the respective governments need to look at the economic growth from all perspectives.
Conclusion
To encourage more inflow of immigrants to fill the shortage in the labor market in Abu Dhabi, there should be an immediate halt to the continued harassment and discrimination of the immigrants. It is reported in some of the countries; there is severe migrant flow hostility. For example, in Saudi Arabia and in U.A.E, those considered to be immigrants are not allowed to handle some jobs since they are preserved to their own indigenous citizens, while in Oman, giving promotion to an immigrant is viewed by the critics as killing the indigenous working class. In Kuwait alone, 18000 immigrants were reported to have been deported in 1980(Fred, 6). A condition favorable to the immigrants needs to be created and preserved. Legislation is, therefore, necessary to be enforced to protect the affected group; laws should be put in place to be able to disband those organized groups in the indigenous working population that bar immigrant membership. Since those organizations can not incorporate immigrants, they only promote divisions and disharmony.
It also calls for a stop on the reliance on the foreign labor force. To achieve this, the respective governments have to upgrade and modernizer the infrastructure (Roads, Communication, and Water) combined with the growth of the indigenous workforce both in terms of quality and quantity. If this is implemented well, then the Arab Countries will definitely be sure to afford to “export” the “surplus” immigrant workers in the near future. By cutting down the number of non-nationals, their economy can then comfortably support their population. The plan has already been started in Saudi Arabia (Secumbe p 801).
As an economic measure, the Gulf States need to keep good track of their immigration statistic records. All the records regarding those who have either left or joined the country have to be updated. This is a step that can really help out. This has been ignored in almost all the states.
Work Cited
Birks J.S. and C.A Sinclair: “An Inquiry into Middle East Labor Market”: The International Migration Project; International Migration Review, Vol, 13. New York; The Centre for Migration Studies of New York 1979, p 122-135.
Fred Halliday “Migration in the Arab World”: Special Reports; No; 123: Middle East Research and Information Project; 1984, P 3-10, 30.
I Secumbe I.J, J.S. Birks and C.A Sinclair, “Migrant Workers in the Arab Gulf”: International Migration Review; Vol 20, No; 4, Special Issue (Temporary Worker); the Centre of Migration Studies, New York; 1986, p 799-814.