Gulf jobs at risk as ME conflict drags on

Prolonged conflict in the Middle East (ME) could trigger major instability in Gulf labour markets, placing the lives and livelihoods of millions of Bangladeshis living in the United Arab Emirates at risk.

The warning came at a press conference organized by Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) held at the National Press Club in the capital on Wednesday on the impact of the ongoing conflict involving Iran and the Gulf region on Bangladeshi migrant workers.

RMMRU said the continuing war had already disrupted business activities across the Gulf, raising fears over the future of several mega development projects in Saudi Arabia that were expected to generate long-term employment opportunities for Bangladeshi workers in the construction and service sectors.

The organisation noted that projects under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 programme, including the $500 billion NEOM city, the Red Sea tourism development project and Qiddiya Entertainment City, could face setbacks due to declining investor confidence, rising costs and possible infrastructural damage.

According to RMMRU, any disruption to these projects would directly affect overseas employment prospects for Bangladeshi manpower seeking work in the Gulf region.

The research body also warned that the UAE’s involvement in the conflict alongside the United States and Israel had increased the risk of retaliatory attacks by Iran, potentially exposing the large Bangladeshi expatriate community in the Emirates to severe uncertainty.

RMMRU further said the conflict had created a secondary crisis in the overseas recruitment process itself.

Delays and cancellations in worker recruitment have reportedly led to disputes between recruiting agents and prospective migrants over recruitment expenses.

It added that around 10,000 Bangladeshi workers were believed to be stranded or affected by job losses, although the figure could rise further as employers across the region grow increasingly reluctant to recruit foreign labour amid heightened security concerns.

Speaking at the event, former Dhaka University professor and founding chair of RMMRU Dr Tasneem Siddiqui said, “Bangladesh needed a dedicated crisis-response fund in the national budget to support migrant workers during wartime or emergency situations.”

She said previous crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic, had shown that many detained migrant workers abroad were released and repatriated during emergencies, though international legal limitations remained over enforcing separate punishments for the same offence across different countries.

Dr Siddiqui also said the ongoing conflict could reshape global labour markets in the long term, forcing Bangladesh to diversify overseas employment destinations and invest more heavily in skills development, language training and modernising the education system.

RMMRU criticised what it described as a lack of preparedness by the authorities, saying there was no publicly communicated coordinated response plan, no real-time monitoring dashboard for stranded migrants or returnees, and no dedicated support mechanism for workers who had lost income but were unable to return home.

The organisation also expressed concern over the vulnerability of domestic workers, many of whom remain outside crisis communication networks, while procedural conditions linked to air tickets had effectively stalled loan disbursements from the Probashi Kallyan Bank.