Discrimination in Saudi Arabia
MM Haque Jeddah, KSA
While salary discrimination, price parity can be explained in many ways, I would agree that Bangladeshis do receive a very lower rate of basic salary and other employment related incentives in Saudi Arabia. However, I wouldn't quite agree with the definition and the way the word 'discrimination' is used by those writers in DS. In a contract, price is negotiated and agreed. The main question is the strength of negotiation, option of taking or leaving it or enforcing your terms. Certainly, not only for pure economic reason, our strength of negotiation is undermined by historic and institutional reasons. Instead of elaborating, I would prefer, you ponder on the following: What is the per unit stitching charge for our garments workers and others? What is the rate parity between the programmers from India and locals in Silicon Valley? How big are the salary and other incentive differences between UN peacekeepers from Bangladesh and the US or Western Europe? Saudi Arabia employs more than a million Bangladeshis, the majority of them do not get a good deal, yet, it offers a hope for them. Until we can build a system that can check those unscrupulous businessmen and officials in Motijheel and Purana Paltan and our economy strengthens, blaming Saudis will be a cheap slogan.
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