Local Issue
The Middle East relies a lot on foreign workforce to keep its economy rising, is this the right path?
The Middle East, up until the three decades ago was a relatively poor and underdeveloped region. On the onset of the oil age, the foreign investors saw a gold mine here and flocked by the droves. As the Middle East was mainly composed of stretching miles of deserts, the population here was quite low. Therefore people were brought from the Indian subcontinent, where the economic crisis leads to availability of cheap labour. Oil giants from the European Union and the United States of America, like the German company Slumberger in Oman, entered the picture with their up to date technology. The entrance of these two groups of foreigners combined with the able and accommodating rule of the Middle Eastern rulers led to the flourish of black gold. Almost 90% of the population of the United Arab Emirates is composed not of locals but of expatriates. Saudi Arabia has the largest congregation of Indians (especially on Friday, the weekend) in one place outside India. But depending so much on external workforce for keeping their economy rising is the right thing to do or not?
Here are some related Scenarios and their corresponding Courses of Action
Scenario 1: All expatriates are forced to leave the country
Not a long time ago, the world saw a series of revolutions, uprisings and protests collectively named the Arab Spring. These revolutions impacted the Middle Eastern community too. Inspired by the success of protests in places like Egypt, the Omani people took part in a low scale uprising too. Especially impacted was the city of Sohar where many took to the streets and indulged in vandal acts. One of the primary goals of this unrest here was to protest the rising unemployment rates. The local people who took part in the protest seemed to think that they were being denied jobs as the companies were favouring expatriates rather than them. But from even before this protest Oman has been undergoing an ‘Omanization’ process wherein the percentage of locals working in any organization is being forced to increase. Therefore the possibility of all expatriates leaving the country is possible. But if this happens it remains to be seen whether the Middle East has amassed the necessary workforce and technology to carry on without external help. But this move also leaves many of the expatriates working in Oman without a job.
However this change perhaps doesn’t apply to the manual labour sector. Nearly all of the construction workers, people who clean the roads and other public places, people who sweat it out under the sun are not locals. They are workers flown in from the Indian subcontinent, the Philippines and a few other Asian nations. It is almost impossible to make these people leave. It will be extremely hard to replace them. The locals would demand a higher payment and wouldn’t possibly work the extremes. Also there are not enough of them to replace the whole economical sector of the country. The local people would flat out refuse to work for the low wage, low benefit jobs and live in poor conditions like the manual labor workers of the Indian subcontinet. This is because they and their family have a relatively better economic standing and do not need to slave to feed mouths. Most people who come from the Indian subcontinent are happy with their wages and the bad lifestyle because back in their home country, they have a family depending on them to scrape through. So when the total omanization does come, it would not impact the manual labor workforce. Therefore the course of action is intended for the other expatriate workers, the engineers, the doctors, the managerial position holders and similar people.
Course of Action:
When such drastic changes start to happen, the government should be more gentle and caring in its approach. It should make sure that the expatriates have a suitable amount of time to find another job before being let go. They should also be provided with the basic necessities needed while shifting countries. It will be the respective Embassies of the expatriates who will have to take this up with the government. This way the people let go will not be stranded.
The government should also make absolutely sure that it has the capabilities of surviving without a foreign workforce before clearing off expatriates. Even then, the process should go at a slow and steady pace so that if a hitch is found in the workings of the economy, something that absolutely needs external involvement, it is not too late.
Scenario 2: Oil runs out, expatriate investors pull out
The fact that there was almost no foreign presences in most of the Middle Eastern nations till the discovery of oil proves that the investors and the expatriates are here because of the thriving oil and natural gas trade. According to researchers, if the current rate of mindless consumption continues, all the oil we have will be used up in the next forty years. Without this binding factor tying the international community to the Middle East, they will start drifting to other nations. 99% of Oman’s exports are oil and natural gas. Only 1% of its land is now being used for cultivation. These figures noted; Oman will be in grave danger when the oil reserves do run out. If the investors pull out the economy will suffer an even greater shock.
Course of Action:
Realising the dangerous position that countries like Oman might be heading to, the governments of these nations should devise alternate plans to prevent a dark future. They should expand their economy and concentrate on developing other strong means of income like tourism, manufacturing industries and more. They should make sure that they are not overly dependent on the presence of external organizations to sustain the economy.
The Middle East, up until the three decades ago was a relatively poor and underdeveloped region. On the onset of the oil age, the foreign investors saw a gold mine here and flocked by the droves. As the Middle East was mainly composed of stretching miles of deserts, the population here was quite low. Therefore people were brought from the Indian subcontinent, where the economic crisis leads to availability of cheap labour. Oil giants from the European Union and the United States of America, like the German company Slumberger in Oman, entered the picture with their up to date technology. The entrance of these two groups of foreigners combined with the able and accommodating rule of the Middle Eastern rulers led to the flourish of black gold. Almost 90% of the population of the United Arab Emirates is composed not of locals but of expatriates. Saudi Arabia has the largest congregation of Indians (especially on Friday, the weekend) in one place outside India. But depending so much on external workforce for keeping their economy rising is the right thing to do or not?
Here are some related Scenarios and their corresponding Courses of Action
Scenario 1: All expatriates are forced to leave the country
Not a long time ago, the world saw a series of revolutions, uprisings and protests collectively named the Arab Spring. These revolutions impacted the Middle Eastern community too. Inspired by the success of protests in places like Egypt, the Omani people took part in a low scale uprising too. Especially impacted was the city of Sohar where many took to the streets and indulged in vandal acts. One of the primary goals of this unrest here was to protest the rising unemployment rates. The local people who took part in the protest seemed to think that they were being denied jobs as the companies were favouring expatriates rather than them. But from even before this protest Oman has been undergoing an ‘Omanization’ process wherein the percentage of locals working in any organization is being forced to increase. Therefore the possibility of all expatriates leaving the country is possible. But if this happens it remains to be seen whether the Middle East has amassed the necessary workforce and technology to carry on without external help. But this move also leaves many of the expatriates working in Oman without a job.
However this change perhaps doesn’t apply to the manual labour sector. Nearly all of the construction workers, people who clean the roads and other public places, people who sweat it out under the sun are not locals. They are workers flown in from the Indian subcontinent, the Philippines and a few other Asian nations. It is almost impossible to make these people leave. It will be extremely hard to replace them. The locals would demand a higher payment and wouldn’t possibly work the extremes. Also there are not enough of them to replace the whole economical sector of the country. The local people would flat out refuse to work for the low wage, low benefit jobs and live in poor conditions like the manual labor workers of the Indian subcontinet. This is because they and their family have a relatively better economic standing and do not need to slave to feed mouths. Most people who come from the Indian subcontinent are happy with their wages and the bad lifestyle because back in their home country, they have a family depending on them to scrape through. So when the total omanization does come, it would not impact the manual labor workforce. Therefore the course of action is intended for the other expatriate workers, the engineers, the doctors, the managerial position holders and similar people.
Course of Action:
When such drastic changes start to happen, the government should be more gentle and caring in its approach. It should make sure that the expatriates have a suitable amount of time to find another job before being let go. They should also be provided with the basic necessities needed while shifting countries. It will be the respective Embassies of the expatriates who will have to take this up with the government. This way the people let go will not be stranded.
The government should also make absolutely sure that it has the capabilities of surviving without a foreign workforce before clearing off expatriates. Even then, the process should go at a slow and steady pace so that if a hitch is found in the workings of the economy, something that absolutely needs external involvement, it is not too late.
Scenario 2: Oil runs out, expatriate investors pull out
The fact that there was almost no foreign presences in most of the Middle Eastern nations till the discovery of oil proves that the investors and the expatriates are here because of the thriving oil and natural gas trade. According to researchers, if the current rate of mindless consumption continues, all the oil we have will be used up in the next forty years. Without this binding factor tying the international community to the Middle East, they will start drifting to other nations. 99% of Oman’s exports are oil and natural gas. Only 1% of its land is now being used for cultivation. These figures noted; Oman will be in grave danger when the oil reserves do run out. If the investors pull out the economy will suffer an even greater shock.
Course of Action:
Realising the dangerous position that countries like Oman might be heading to, the governments of these nations should devise alternate plans to prevent a dark future. They should expand their economy and concentrate on developing other strong means of income like tourism, manufacturing industries and more. They should make sure that they are not overly dependent on the presence of external organizations to sustain the economy.