Workers in Arab Gulf countries facing increasing hurdles to organising

As reported previously, workers in Bahrain have endured mass repression as they have struggled to open up democratic spaces. The government is now trying to neutralise workers’ power by setting up a yellow, pro-government union federation. In neighbouring Qatar, while the government is trying to deflect criticism about its appalling treatment of migrant workers by setting up a complaints hotline, it has now created a new ‘App’ for employers to report ‘absconding’ migrant workers to the authorities.