Araştırma Makalesi
BibTex RIS Kaynak Göster

Class Formation, Labor Market, and Inequality in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries

Yıl 2020, Cilt: 10 Sayı: 4, 193 - 215, 15.12.2020

Öz

Bu makale Körfez İşbirliği Konseyi ülkelerindeki (Bahreyn, Birleşik Arap Emirlikleri, Katar, Kuveyt, Suudi Arabistan ve Umman) sınıf oluşumu üzerinden ülke vatandaşları ve yabancı işçiler arasında meydan gelen eşitsizliği inceleyecektir. Bu eşitsizlikler, bölgedeki demografik dengesizlik nedeniyle uygulanan kafala sisteminin getirdiği hak mahrumiyetleri ve maaşlardaki ve çalışma şartlarındaki standart dışı uygulamalar üzerine inşa edilecektir. Buradan yola çıkarak, bu makalenin temel argümanı körfez ülkelerinin vatandaşları ile yabancı işçiler arasında kamu ve özel sektörünü içeren toplam emek piyasasında eşitsizliklerin olduğuna yöneliktir. Ayrıca bu makale, körfez ülkeleri tarafından bu eşitsizliklerin azaltılması için kafala sisteminin yumuşatılmasına ve minimum maaşların kontrol edilmesine yönelik düzenlemelerin yapıldığını da iddia etmektedir. Bu iddiaları desteklemek için yerli vatandaşların ve yabancı işçilerin kamu ve özel sektörü içeren toplam emek piyasasına katılımlarını gösteren ikincil veriler kullanılmakta ve yorumlanmaktadır. Bu makalenin anlaşılır olması için nitel çözemleme analizi ve yorumlayıcı teknik kullanılmıştır. Bu çalışmanın temel bulgusu, körfez ülkelerinde yabancı işçilerin haklarının iyileştirilmesine yönelik son dönemlerde birtakım politikalar geliştirilse de işçilerin ülkelerinden kaynaklı maaş ve özlük hakları eşitsizliği hala devam etmektedir. Böylece bu makale Körfez ülkelerinin yönetimlerinin işçi haklarını iyileştirmeye yönelik gerçekleştirdiği birtakım politikalar neticesinde emek piyasasındaki yerli ve yabancı vatandaşların mevcut durumunu ortaya koyarak bölgenin politik iktisadı literatürüne önemli katkıda bulunmayı hedeflemektedir.

Kaynakça

  • Advani, R. (2019). A realm without rights: Noncitizen workers and exclusive citizenship in the Gulf. Retrieved from https://tcf.org/content/report/a-realm-without-rights/?agreed=1
  • Al-Ubaydli, O. (2015). The economics of migrant workers in the GCC. Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington Issue Paper, 10. Retrieved from: https://agsiw.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Ubaydli_ONLINE_ edits.pdf
  • Al-Waqfi, M. A., & Al-Faki, I. A. (2015). Gender-based differences in employment conditions of local and expatriate workers in the GCC context. International Journal of Manpower, 36(3), 397–415.
  • Alfarhan, U. F., & Al‐Busaidi, S. (2019). Migrant earnings gaps in gulf cooperation council countries: Employers’ perceptions or opportunity costs? International Labor Review, 158(2), 273–295.
  • AlShehabi, O. (2015). Histories of migration to the Gulf. In A. Khalaf, O. Alshehabi, & A. Hanieh (Eds.), Transit states: Labor, migration and citizenship in the Gulf (pp. 3–38). Pluto Press.
  • Ari, I., Akkas, E., Asutay, M., & Koç, M. (2019). Public and private investment in the hydrocarbon-based rentier economies: A case study for the GCC countries. Resources Policy, 62, 165–175.
  • Asad, T. (1972). Political inequality in the Kababish tribe. In I. Cunnison & W. James (Eds.), Essays in Sudan ethnography. C. Hurst.
  • Ayubi, N. (1996). Over-stating the Arab state: Politics and society in the Middle East. I. B. Tauris.
  • Beblawi, H. (1987). The rentier state in the Arab world. Arab Studies Quarterly, 9(4), 383–398.
  • Bel-Air, F., & Zahra, M. (2014). GCC labor and migration: Challenges and responses. In Gulf Yearbook, 2015 (pp. 161–168).
  • Belser, P. (2016). Wage and income inequality. Retrieved from: https://en.unesco.org/inclusivepolicylab/sites/ default/files/analytics/document/2019/4/wssr_2016_chap_06.pdf
  • Berrebi, C., Martorell, F., & Tanner, J. C. (2009). Qatar’s labor markets at a crucial crossroad. The Middle East Journal, 63(3), 421–442.
  • Bromley, S. (1994). Rethinking Middle East politics. University of Texas Press.
  • Bruslé, T. (2010). Living in and out of the host society. Aspects of Nepalese migrants’ experience of division in Qatar. Paper presented at the Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research.
  • Buttorff, G. J., Al Lawati, N., & Welborne, B. C. (2018). Cursed no more? The resource curse, gender, and labor nationalization policies in the GCC. Journal of Arabian Studies, 8(1), 65–86.
  • Caton, S. C. (1990). Anthropological theories of tribe and state formation in the Middle East: Ideology and the semiotics of power. In P. Khoury & J. Kostiner (Eds.), Tribes and state formation in the Middle East (pp. 74–108). University of California Press.
  • Diederich, M. (2004). Indonesians in Saudi Arabia: Religious and economic connections. In M. Al-Rasheed (Ed.), Transnational connections and the Arab Gulf (pp. 128–146). Routledge.
  • Errichiello, G. (2012). Foreign workforce in the Arab gulf states (1930–1950): Migration patterns and nationality clause. International Migration Review, 46(2), 389–413.
  • Forstenlechner, I., & Rutledge, E. J. (2011). The GCC’s “demographic imbalance”: Perceptions, realities and policy options. Middle East Policy, 18(4), 25–43.
  • Gardner, A. M. (2010). City of strangers: Gulf migration and the Indian community in Bahrain. Cornell University Press.
  • Grassa, R., & Gazdar, K. (2014). Financial development and economic growth in GCC countries: A comparative study between Islamic and conventional finance. International Journal of Social Economics, 41(6), 493–514.
  • Hamaizia, A. (2015). Labor market dynamics in the GCC states. OxGAPS, Oxford Gulf & Arabian Peninsula Studies Forum, Autumn, vi-vii. Retrieved from: https://www.oxgaps.org/files/gulf_affairs_ autumn_2015_full_issue.pdf
  • Hanieh, A. (2010). Khaleeji-capital: Class-formation and regional integration in the Middle-East Gulf.
  • Hanieh, A. (2011). Capitalism and class in the Gulf Arab states. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Harry, W. (2007). Employment creation and localization: The crucial human resource issues for the GCC. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(1), 132–146.
  • Hasan, S. (2015). Workforce localization in the GCC countries: Policies, practices, and the labor-exporting countries’ responses. Philippine Political Science Journal, 36(2), 147–166.
  • Hertog, S. (2013). State and private sector in the GCC after the Arab uprisings. Journal of Arabian Studies, 3(2), 174–195.
  • Hertog, S. (2014). Arab Gulf states: An assessment of nationalisation policies. Retrieved from: https://cadmus.eui. eu/bitstream/handle/1814/32156/GLMM%20ResearchPaper_01-2014.pdf sequence=1&isAllowed=y
  • Hvidt, M. (2013) Economic diversification in GCC countries: Past record and future trends. In Kuwait Programme on Development, Governance and Globalisation in the Gulf States (p. 27). London School of Economics and Political Science.
  • International Labour Organization. (2017). Employer‐migrant worker relationships in the Middle East: Exploring scope for internal labor market mobility and fair migration. Retrieved from: https://www. ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---arabstates/---ro-beirut/documents/publication/wcms_552697.pdf

Class Formation, Labor Market, and Inequality in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries

Yıl 2020, Cilt: 10 Sayı: 4, 193 - 215, 15.12.2020

Öz

This paper examines the inequalities between national and non-national workers through class formation in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. These inequalities are constructed over non-standardized salaries, work conditions, and the rights deprivations that arise from the kafala system due to demographic imbalances in the region. From this point of view, this paper’s main argument is that inequalities exist between nationals and non-nationals in the labor market. At the same time, this paper argues that Gulf states have made some arrangements such as extending the kafala system and controlling salaried payments to eliminate labor market inequalities. The secondary data, including the participation of nationals and non-nationals in the labor market and their minimum and maximum salaries, have been used to present the inequalities in the labor market. This paper uses qualitative analysis and the interpretive technique to provide clear understanding. This paper’s main finding is that although some strategies exist that have increased the rights of non-national workers in the Gulf countries, the salary and personal-rights inequalities in the labor market, as well as discrimination with respect to one’s home country to still exist. In this way, the article’s main objective is to make an essential contribution to the literature on the political economy of Gulf countries by presenting the current situation of nationals and non-nationals in GCC countries’ labor markets following the government regulations that strengthen the labor rights.

Kaynakça

  • Advani, R. (2019). A realm without rights: Noncitizen workers and exclusive citizenship in the Gulf. Retrieved from https://tcf.org/content/report/a-realm-without-rights/?agreed=1
  • Al-Ubaydli, O. (2015). The economics of migrant workers in the GCC. Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington Issue Paper, 10. Retrieved from: https://agsiw.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Ubaydli_ONLINE_ edits.pdf
  • Al-Waqfi, M. A., & Al-Faki, I. A. (2015). Gender-based differences in employment conditions of local and expatriate workers in the GCC context. International Journal of Manpower, 36(3), 397–415.
  • Alfarhan, U. F., & Al‐Busaidi, S. (2019). Migrant earnings gaps in gulf cooperation council countries: Employers’ perceptions or opportunity costs? International Labor Review, 158(2), 273–295.
  • AlShehabi, O. (2015). Histories of migration to the Gulf. In A. Khalaf, O. Alshehabi, & A. Hanieh (Eds.), Transit states: Labor, migration and citizenship in the Gulf (pp. 3–38). Pluto Press.
  • Ari, I., Akkas, E., Asutay, M., & Koç, M. (2019). Public and private investment in the hydrocarbon-based rentier economies: A case study for the GCC countries. Resources Policy, 62, 165–175.
  • Asad, T. (1972). Political inequality in the Kababish tribe. In I. Cunnison & W. James (Eds.), Essays in Sudan ethnography. C. Hurst.
  • Ayubi, N. (1996). Over-stating the Arab state: Politics and society in the Middle East. I. B. Tauris.
  • Beblawi, H. (1987). The rentier state in the Arab world. Arab Studies Quarterly, 9(4), 383–398.
  • Bel-Air, F., & Zahra, M. (2014). GCC labor and migration: Challenges and responses. In Gulf Yearbook, 2015 (pp. 161–168).
  • Belser, P. (2016). Wage and income inequality. Retrieved from: https://en.unesco.org/inclusivepolicylab/sites/ default/files/analytics/document/2019/4/wssr_2016_chap_06.pdf
  • Berrebi, C., Martorell, F., & Tanner, J. C. (2009). Qatar’s labor markets at a crucial crossroad. The Middle East Journal, 63(3), 421–442.
  • Bromley, S. (1994). Rethinking Middle East politics. University of Texas Press.
  • Bruslé, T. (2010). Living in and out of the host society. Aspects of Nepalese migrants’ experience of division in Qatar. Paper presented at the Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research.
  • Buttorff, G. J., Al Lawati, N., & Welborne, B. C. (2018). Cursed no more? The resource curse, gender, and labor nationalization policies in the GCC. Journal of Arabian Studies, 8(1), 65–86.
  • Caton, S. C. (1990). Anthropological theories of tribe and state formation in the Middle East: Ideology and the semiotics of power. In P. Khoury & J. Kostiner (Eds.), Tribes and state formation in the Middle East (pp. 74–108). University of California Press.
  • Diederich, M. (2004). Indonesians in Saudi Arabia: Religious and economic connections. In M. Al-Rasheed (Ed.), Transnational connections and the Arab Gulf (pp. 128–146). Routledge.
  • Errichiello, G. (2012). Foreign workforce in the Arab gulf states (1930–1950): Migration patterns and nationality clause. International Migration Review, 46(2), 389–413.
  • Forstenlechner, I., & Rutledge, E. J. (2011). The GCC’s “demographic imbalance”: Perceptions, realities and policy options. Middle East Policy, 18(4), 25–43.
  • Gardner, A. M. (2010). City of strangers: Gulf migration and the Indian community in Bahrain. Cornell University Press.
  • Grassa, R., & Gazdar, K. (2014). Financial development and economic growth in GCC countries: A comparative study between Islamic and conventional finance. International Journal of Social Economics, 41(6), 493–514.
  • Hamaizia, A. (2015). Labor market dynamics in the GCC states. OxGAPS, Oxford Gulf & Arabian Peninsula Studies Forum, Autumn, vi-vii. Retrieved from: https://www.oxgaps.org/files/gulf_affairs_ autumn_2015_full_issue.pdf
  • Hanieh, A. (2010). Khaleeji-capital: Class-formation and regional integration in the Middle-East Gulf.
  • Hanieh, A. (2011). Capitalism and class in the Gulf Arab states. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Harry, W. (2007). Employment creation and localization: The crucial human resource issues for the GCC. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(1), 132–146.
  • Hasan, S. (2015). Workforce localization in the GCC countries: Policies, practices, and the labor-exporting countries’ responses. Philippine Political Science Journal, 36(2), 147–166.
  • Hertog, S. (2013). State and private sector in the GCC after the Arab uprisings. Journal of Arabian Studies, 3(2), 174–195.
  • Hertog, S. (2014). Arab Gulf states: An assessment of nationalisation policies. Retrieved from: https://cadmus.eui. eu/bitstream/handle/1814/32156/GLMM%20ResearchPaper_01-2014.pdf sequence=1&isAllowed=y
  • Hvidt, M. (2013) Economic diversification in GCC countries: Past record and future trends. In Kuwait Programme on Development, Governance and Globalisation in the Gulf States (p. 27). London School of Economics and Political Science.
  • International Labour Organization. (2017). Employer‐migrant worker relationships in the Middle East: Exploring scope for internal labor market mobility and fair migration. Retrieved from: https://www. ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---arabstates/---ro-beirut/documents/publication/wcms_552697.pdf
Toplam 30 adet kaynakça vardır.

Ayrıntılar

Birincil Dil Türkçe
Konular Uluslararası İlişkiler
Bölüm Araştırma Makaleleri
Yazarlar

Erhan Akkaş

Yayımlanma Tarihi 15 Aralık 2020
Yayımlandığı Sayı Yıl 2020 Cilt: 10 Sayı: 4

Kaynak Göster

APA Akkaş, E. (2020). Class Formation, Labor Market, and Inequality in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries. İnsan Ve Toplum, 10(4), 193-215.