The GCC’s building industry has long been unique for its employment demographics, with the majority of its construction workers hailing from South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Amid the rapid spread of the new coronavirus, the UAE has offered to fly stranded Indians and citizens of other countries if they wish to be repatriated and test negative for Covid-19. Those testing positive for the illness will be treated in the UAE.

The Early Leave initiative was also unveiled by the UAE on 5 April, allowing expat private sector employees to temporarily return to their home countries while Covid-19 precautionary measures are in effect.

The poor response to the UAE's offer to repatriate stranded foreigners has led its Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (Mohre) to consider reviewing its agreements with some of these labour source markets.

A Mohre source said on 12 April that options currently being studied include the halting of any memorandums of understanding between the ministry and the concerned authorities of non-cooperative countries, as well as the introduction of restrictions or quotas for future recruitment.

On 13 April, the Federation of the UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) said it was reconsidering its relations with countries that have not responded to repatriation requests from their UAE-residing citizens.

FCCI chairman Mohammed Thani al-Rumaithi said these countries must be more flexible and “more cooperative to maintain the best interest of all parties in the future”, according to state news agency Wam.

Al-Rumaithi called for non-responsive countries to move away from “their hardline approach” to the matter, since it would reflect negatively on future relations between the FCCI and the chambers of commerce in those countries, the report added.

He said: “Unfortunately, some countries are ignoring all humanitarian and constitutional principles by refusing to welcome their citizens or taking the responsibility of transferring them home despite what their constitutions or passports are showing and slogans of citizens’ rights inside and outside their borders.

“These countries should abide by their slogans and mottos. The recent conditions showed that their mottos and slogans are mere sayings with no meanings whatsoever,” he said.

“Not allowing them to enter their homeland is against all principles of human rights, international conventions and citizenship rights.”

The FCCI stands by Mohre’s reported reviews of its working relationships with these countries, Al-Rumaithi added.

The Wam reports about Mohre and the FCCI do not specify which countries have been least or non-responsive, but numerous pleas for repatriation from Indian, Pakistani and Nepali workers residing in the UAE have been reported during the past week.

Structural gaps

A day after the Mohre plan was reported, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called on overseas nationals to donate to the country’s anti-coronavirus fund.

Khan said the Pakistani government’s stimulus package of $8bn would be insufficient to meet the needs of its 220 million-strong population amid Covid-19. 

However, he did not specify the government's repatriation efforts at the time. 

Following Mohre’s announcement on 12 April, Pakistan’s ambassador to the UAE said the embassy was waiting for permission from Islamabad for repatriation flights. 

“We are very keen to bring Pakistanis back but we need to finalise our treatment and quarantine facilities,” Ghulam Dastgir told Reuters.

On 14 April, the Consulate General of Pakistan in Dubai tweeted that two Fly Dubai flights arranged by UAE government, would transport prisoners to the Pakistani cities of Faisalabad and Peshawar on the same day. 

“Special passenger flights for repatriation of Pakistani nationals from UAE will start from next week,” the Pakistani consulate added.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring India, the Supreme Court said on 12 April that it would not be possible to repatriate all Indians currently based abroad, asking citizens to stay where they are.

The PM Narendra Modi-led government closed borders for three weeks from 25 March and has not conducted any repatriation flights since, despite arranging several special flights to evacuate foreigners stranded in India.

On 14 April, Modi extended the nation-wide lockdown until 3 May, with the partial resumption of some industries to be reviewed from 20 April. No mention was made of air travel or repatriation plans in his speech. 

Indian newspaper Hindustan Times reported on 13 April that the Modi government had contacted Kuwait and the UAE over reported moves to repatriate expat workers. 

Some 2,500 Indians, the majority of which are stranded tourists and individuals without jobs, have reportedly approached the missions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai for help to return home.

While the Consulate General of India is providing meals and telemedicine support to Indian workers in the UAE, non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the country continue to pursue the agency for urgent repatriation efforts.

Nepal’s government is in a similar situation.

Nepalese ambassadors in the Middle East have pledged their salaries to the central government’s coronavirus relief fund for citizens in the country. 

However, repatriating even a small number of the 275,000-odd Nepali workers estimated to be living in the UAE could burden the country’s ailing aviation and healthcare systems, local daily Nepali Times reported.

Citing a local public health expert, the newspaper added: “Nepal just does not have the quarantine and isolation capacity to handle so many returnees. Besides, the question would arise why we are flying back workers from Dubai but not from Delhi.” 

What next?

Low income South Asian employees, which often make up the majority of regional onsite construction teams, may not have enough work to stay on in the GCC as projects are suspended and employers at hotels, restaurants and other social venues temporarily halt operations. 

Yet these workers also cannot return home, even though the UAE has offered to charter repatriation flights for stranded foreigners in the country.

As the FCCI’s Al-Rumaithi said, inaction on behalf of these South Asian nations reflects poorly on their trade ties with the UAE.

The value of the UAE’s and Pakistan’s trade exchange reached $3.2bn in 2018, UAE state news agency Wam reported this January. 

The UAE is the largest investor in Pakistan, where it has interests in the telecom, aviation, banking, real estate and oil and gas sectors.

The country deposited $3bn in the State Bank of Pakistan at the start of 2019 to boost the bank’s liquidity and help maintain its foreign currency reserves. 

India counted the UAE as its third largest trading partner in 2018-19 after the US and China as bilateral trade hit $60bn during the year. 

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) will help provide 83 million Indian families free cooking gas cylinders as part of India’s $22.3bn relief package for below-poverty line groups affected by Covid-19 lockdowns, India’s petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on 7 April. 

Pradhan said he had also held discussions with the UAE’s minister of state and Adnoc group chief executive Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber “to work closely in the coming days to strengthen India’s energy security, including in our strategic petroleum reserves programme”.

Similarly, the UAE is Nepal’s third largest trading partner, and in 2018, their bilateral trade was valued at around $300m, according to UAE newspaper Gulf News.

Kathmandu relies on remittances for a quarter of its total GDP. In the 2018-19 fiscal year, the UAE was Nepal’s third largest source of remittances, trailing behind only India and Saudi Arabia on the list.

As South Asian governments struggle to arrange sufficient support for their expatriate citizens, low income workers are among the groups most vulnerable to the sustained socioeconomic uncertainty expected in the foreseeable future.

Mohre’s source said in Wam’s 12 April report that partner countries must fulfil their responsibilities towards their nationals working in the UAE.

While South Asian governments continue to pledge support for their foreign citizens, their response to the UAE's calls for repatriation remains to be seen.