Gulf labour reforms: can policy ambition meet everyday protection?
Across the Gulf, national governments are redesigning labour and migration frameworks to attract global talent and strengthen accountability. Yet behind these reforms lies a deeper story: one where millions of migrant workers enjoy the promises of modernisation as well as its pitfalls.
In this time of great economic and green transformation in the Gulf, it is vital to see through the eyes of those whose lives it impacts, exploring how recruitment, wage protection, and residency reforms can align competitiveness with fairness.
A Region in Transition
Labour and migration governance lies at the heart of many Gulf countries’ national visions. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the UAE’s Centennial 2071, and Qatar’s National Vision 2030—all seek to diversify economies, attract investment, and build skilled workforces.
Yet, the realisation of these ambitions is impossible without migration. Migrant workers make up over three-quarters of the Gulf’s workforce, with some economies—such as Qatar and Kuwait—relying on them for around 90 percent of their labour force, according to the Gulf Labour Markets and Migration Programme.
Many actors across the entire region have demonstrated a common commitment to fair recruitment, worker welfare, and labour mobility. Yet while this marks genuine progress towards a more transparent and accountable model of labour governance, current implementation still varies depending on sectoral gaps and local enforcement. From construction sites in Riyadh to domestic households in Doha, the reality of reform remains largely uneven.
Recruitment: Aspiration and Reality
The migration journey of most Gulf-bound workers begins long before their arrival. In villages across Nepal, Kerala, or coastal Bangladesh, loans are taken, and contracts are signed.
Several Gulf states have decisively moved to bridge the gap between regulation and experience. In what the ILO’s Fair Recruitment Initiative sees as early examples of regional accountability, Qatar’s electronic contract verification system now ensures that employment terms are approved before departure. Saudi Arabia has expanded its oversight of recruitment agencies, while bilateral labour agreements with India, Bangladesh, and the Philippines have strengthened monitoring of cross-border recruitment.
Yet migration experience is decisively shaped by recruitment debt. According to an ILO Global Report on Wage and Recruitment Fees, over half of migrant workers worldwide pay recruitment costs. Available evidence shows that migrant workers continue to pay between USD 400 and 1,800 despite official prohibitions.
A worker from Kerala, India, put it simply: “Before I start earning, I am already in loss.” A way out requires a shift in policy: aligning national recruitment systems with zero-fee policies. Doing so will not only protect migrant workers but also strengthen Gulf economies’ reputations as ethical and forward-looking labour destinations.
Wage Protection
One of the most significant policy innovations in the Gulf region is the introduction of Wage Protection Systems (WPS). By imposing the requirement on employers to pay salaries electronically, these systems allow authorities to monitor compliance and prevent wage theft. According to the Gulf Labour Markets and Migration Programme (GLMM), WPS frameworks have considerably improved transparency and accountability across formal employment sectors.
However, WPS systems do not comprehensively cover many domestic and informal workers. According to Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ), exclusions and delays persist, particularly for low-income workers. Salary arrears stretching for months despite digital tracking were also documented in research reports (Human Rights Watch).
Yet as one Filipino cleaner put it, “The system protects us on paper, but when pay is late, the system is silent.” Technology is a tool, not a solution in itself. To make wage protection meaningful, governments should extend WPS coverage to all sectors, ensure swift dispute resolution, and publicly release enforcement data. These steps will transform systems designed for oversight into instruments of justice.
Residency and Mobility
Along with WPS, another cornerstone of the region's labour modernisation is residency reform. Saudi Arabia’s Premium Residency, the UAE’s Golden Visa, and Qatar’s removal of exit permits have all widened pathways for long-term residence and professional mobility. These policies recognise a clear principle: when workers have stability, productivity and innovation follow.
And yet flexibility remains uneven here too. Many low-wage workers in domestic, construction, and service sectors continue to face restricted mobility under employer-linked sponsorship. According to Council on Foreign Relations, despite recent advances in legal reforms, structural dependencies still endure. One of the issues, as articulated in the GLMM’s analysis of labour mobility, is a “dual mobility regime” that grants autonomy to professionals, but imposes limitations on low-income migrants. As one Bangladeshi electrician aptly phrased it, “They say I’m temporary, but I’ve been here twelve years.”
A solution here is expanding flexible and mid-level visa categories, which will enhance social stability, support skills retention, and foster a sense of belonging.
From Policy Competition to Shared Alignment
Overall, the Gulf’s trajectory is largely positive. Each year brings new reforms strengthening oversight, enhancing transparency, and reaffirming worker protection as a core governance goal. Yet isolated implementation risks duplication and uneven impact. In order to transform policy competition into shared alignment, where progress in one state lifts standards across all, we need deeper regional cooperation—through GCC labour frameworks, ILO dialogue, and sustained partnerships with sending countries.
Three opportunities stand out:
Recruitment: Adopting regional zero-fee recruitment standards and jointly monitoring compliance.
Wages: Expanding wage protection systems to all sectors and publishing inspection outcomes to foster trust.
Mobility: Shifting away from employer-tied residency to ensure fair mobility for every skill level.
Dignified Modernisation
The Gulf’s labour reforms are reshaping global conversations about migration governance. However, despite real achievements such as digitalisation, wage oversight, and flexible visas, the deeper measure of success lies not in system design, but in the dignity and security felt by those who keep these economies running.
Modernisation should not be evaluated only by investment or growth—rather, it should be judged by fairness, safety, and whether workers can plan lives of stability and respect. A shared commitment to dignified alignment—where policy ambition meets everyday protection—should become the next frontier in Gulf labour reform, standing out as one of its most enduring contributions to global migration governance.