Gulf Labor Issues

There was a time when the Persian Gulf had lots of oil and few people, so the rulers set up welfare states and foreign workers came in to do a lot of the less desirable jobs. Then the population exploded, and now people are trying to nativize the work force so that they can all find jobs. One problem, of course, is that young people are often looking at careers their parents would have considered beneath them. All of this is probably the biggest under-reported story in the Persian Gulf these days, as it affects not only foreign workers who are now working illegally, but is also leading to calls for more women to enter the workforce in some rather conservative countries. But see also Mahmood al-Yousif for an employer's perspective.