To the OP, the country you have come to has done some things in the right direction; midday ban on outdoor work during Summer, WPS for e.g.

However, in some other places, an employee can be arrested for "refusing to work", even if he has submitted his resignation (which is refused), that, IMO is much closer to slavery . (Of course the employer will never be arrested for "refusing to pay")

These workers "deserve" whatever the market can support for their wages. Wages are a result of supply and demand. There is a nearly unlimited supply of these workers willing to come and work here, so why on earth would a business pay them more than the minimum required to secure their labor?? You understand how business works, right? It's to make profit.

Believe me, if opportunities at home were better, they would not be here.

Why do you care how many kids we have? At least our children will help us in our old age...unlike your kids. LOL.....i bet they will throw you out into nursing homes and wont visit you for years no matter how sick you get....or even if you die. I think one thing the westerners need to learn is to respect the elders (especially parents)

I have a cousin who lives in USA married to a white girl. He cussed his mom out and kicked her out of her own home. Sad isn't it?

OK - You need to relax OP.

Let's not compare cultures, countries and ethics. I know enough about Pakistan to point out several human rights violations, corruption and poverty. Just google it. No country is perfect nor any one society.

As per your original query - as far as I know, there's little we can do as expats. There are some laws in this country which are meant to create equality to some level but these laws aren't always enforced. All I do is: point out when discrimination is going on around me and try not to discriminate myself.

If you come up with a better solution, do share with us.

well THAT'S a helpful piece of gross stereotyping, isn't it?!

I must look out my bowler hat and umbrella, because I'm English.

This sort of statement is not going to assist in your argument.
Totally agree that those from India, Pakistan are second class citizens here. Not sure that a reference to Western family love is relevant in any way?

Everybody here seems to have difficulty to get the situation as a whole.
First of all, if locals are to be blamed for something is maybe to want to develop too quickly and hence not being able to supply their own needs, and also to be a bit lazy...but who can blame a population for wanting the best the quickest?
The results is a society with very weird behavior such as average people not even knowing how to cook, clean their house... and on the other hand the low profile job filled by people you can barely have a conversation unlike in the west where a plumber is an educated person.

As someone said, if people get low pay it is not to be blamed on arabs!
Who the hell forced Pakistanis or indian to come work here if it is not the extreme misery, poverty and corruption in their own country? Trust me they are better here than there!
Also, there is unlimited supply and most of the low profile people are completely uneducated in all fields, wether it is school education, or just how to live in a developed society or even about their own religion: islam or others...

What do you expect from UAE? To educate those people 5 years prior to bring them in?To pay those people 6,000 dirhams?? Nobody in the world would pay that!

The ones to blame are their own country!!!!

Concerning the number of kids they have, I think it is bad for our planet to reproduce like rabbit but I think it is also part of some belief in religion.

It is easy for people from west (like me) to say "ohh look at those country, they don't treat people as good as themselves"...ah yeah right!! Us developed country got developed by exploiting our own people (yes I remember the ridiculous salary of my grand parents) but also slave from other countries!

So please compare what is comparable! For sure a country in development will have a lot of inequity...this is just non avoidable!

I THINK UAE IS NOT PERFECT BUT THEY DO MUCH BETTER THAN MOST!
Also, if anybody is not happy feel free to leave.

i think the people from all these places are also to blame in a way..they are the ones who eventually agree to work for very low wages..because if one person doesnt agree to a wage, hundreds of others are waiting to get that particular offer ! i understand one accepts what is given to him thinking about his situation,but i feel this can be a strong reason why companies take this as an advantage, unfortunately...i do feel sorry for them..not just them, even qualified people who are underpaid..

Who the f8ck are we to blame, from our ivory towers? I think the workers of Dubai are amazing. What you are all witnessing, in Dubai and elsewhere, is the backbone of the third world's poor taking an "opportunity", (just like you), but regardless if their new life really is as sh!t as the old one (not like you). That they are being used by duplicitous and money hungry individuals and corporations, only makes the idealism all the more wretched. It really is the best and worst of capitalism, unfolding right in front of you. These workers are the real underdogs of Dubai.



And as it so happens, some Tories apparently agree. Just today, in fact.

Tory young bloods say Britons are idlers who need to emulate Asia | Politics | The Guardian

Britons are among "the worst idlers" in the world preferring a "lie-in to hard work", according to group of rising stars of the Tory party, who have advocated a tough set of work reforms in a new book.

And from the Mail:

‘Whereas Indian children aspire to be doctors or businessmen, the British are more interested in football and pop music. Too many people in Britain, we argue, prefer a lie-in to hard work.’ The MPs urged the coalition to copy the culture of a work ethic in South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong.


Read more: Kwasi Kwarteng, Priti Patel, Dominic Raab, Chris Skidmore and Elizabeth Truss criticise the welfare dependency culture. | Mail Online

PUBLISHED: 20:39, 17 August 2012 | UPDATED: 20:42, 17 August 2012

__________________
“All I ever wanted was a world without maps.”
― Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient

I don't know why the debate is becoming so heated. Some simple facts:

1) The closest labor pool to satisfy the Gulf's expansion requirements is within this area (geographically and other reasons like climate adaptability) and has been so for decades
2) The population of these countries combined is roughly around the 1.5 bn mark with more than 80% of the people living below the poverty level (as defined globally). The majority don't have access to education and illiteracy levels are astronomical. There is no social security system in any of these countries. Hence, you have a massive pool of people who have "no" skills yet need to make money to survive the crushing poverty that they face otherwise
3) At 3000 AED a month; when converted into local currency, is at times more than what more skilled people make back home in these countries. Secondly, none of these guys with their skill set has any hope of ever reaching that level of salary back home ever. So the dream is to come here, put up with all the crap, make enough money to set up a business or put kids through school or whatever and then go back home. A lot of them pay dubious agents to be able to come here.
4) Unfortunately, the above three factors do encourage exploitation and yes of course it happens. Can this be corrected? maybe or maybe not; I do not know. Logically, no unless the supply / demand equation is corrected or until international pressure or focus is diverted here
5) Can we do anything about it? yes, on an individual basis we can by doing charitable stuff like providing workers we come across with food and money and so on. Overall; don't think so - as expats, we have limited rights ourselves and in any country, causes need to be championed by the local populace to have any chance of success

haha.....I'm sorry. I don't mean to stereotype or offend anybody