Class Formation, Labor Market, and Inequality in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries

Year 2020, Volume: 10 Issue: 4, 193 - 215, 15.12.2020

Erhan Akkaş

Abstract

Bu makale Körfez İşbirliği Konseyi ülkelerindeki (Bahreyn, Birleşik Arap Emirlikleri, Katar, Kuveyt, Suudi Arabistan ve Umman) sınıf oluşumu üzerinden ülke vatandaşları ve yabancı işçiler arasında meydan gelen eşitsizliği inceleyecektir. Bu eşitsizlikler, bölgedeki demografik dengesizlik nedeniyle uygulanan kafala sisteminin getirdiği hak mahrumiyetleri ve maaşlardaki ve çalışma şartlarındaki standart dışı uygulamalar üzerine inşa edilecektir. Buradan yola çıkarak, bu makalenin temel argümanı körfez ülkelerinin vatandaşları ile yabancı işçiler arasında kamu ve özel sektörünü içeren toplam emek piyasasında eşitsizliklerin olduğuna yöneliktir. Ayrıca bu makale, körfez ülkeleri tarafından bu eşitsizliklerin azaltılması için kafala sisteminin yumuşatılmasına ve minimum maaşların kontrol edilmesine yönelik düzenlemelerin yapıldığını da iddia etmektedir. Bu iddiaları desteklemek için yerli vatandaşların ve yabancı işçilerin kamu ve özel sektörü içeren toplam emek piyasasına katılımlarını gösteren ikincil veriler kullanılmakta ve yorumlanmaktadır. Bu makalenin anlaşılır olması için nitel çözemleme analizi ve yorumlayıcı teknik kullanılmıştır. Bu çalışmanın temel bulgusu, körfez ülkelerinde yabancı işçilerin haklarının iyileştirilmesine yönelik son dönemlerde birtakım politikalar geliştirilse de işçilerin ülkelerinden kaynaklı maaş ve özlük hakları eşitsizliği hala devam etmektedir. Böylece bu makale Körfez ülkelerinin yönetimlerinin işçi haklarını iyileştirmeye yönelik gerçekleştirdiği birtakım politikalar neticesinde emek piyasasındaki yerli ve yabancı vatandaşların mevcut durumunu ortaya koyarak bölgenin politik iktisadı literatürüne önemli katkıda bulunmayı hedeflemektedir.

Keywords

Sınıf oluşumu, eşitsizlik, emek piyasası, rantçı ekonomiler, KİK ülkeleri

Class Formation, Labor Market, and Inequality in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries

Abstract

This paper examines the inequalities between national and non-national workers through class formation in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. These inequalities are constructed over non-standardized salaries, work conditions, and the rights deprivations that arise from the kafala system due to demographic imbalances in the region. From this point of view, this paper’s main argument is that inequalities exist between nationals and non-nationals in the labor market. At the same time, this paper argues that Gulf states have made some arrangements such as extending the kafala system and controlling salaried payments to eliminate labor market inequalities. The secondary data, including the participation of nationals and non-nationals in the labor market and their minimum and maximum salaries, have been used to present the inequalities in the labor market. This paper uses qualitative analysis and the interpretive technique to provide clear understanding. This paper’s main finding is that although some strategies exist that have increased the rights of non-national workers in the Gulf countries, the salary and personal-rights inequalities in the labor market, as well as discrimination with respect to one’s home country to still exist. In this way, the article’s main objective is to make an essential contribution to the literature on the political economy of Gulf countries by presenting the current situation of nationals and non-nationals in GCC countries’ labor markets following the government regulations that strengthen the labor rights.

Keywords

Class formation, inequality, labor market, rentier economies, GCC countries.

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