As temperatures soar to deadly levels across the globe, countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are exposing migrant workers to another deadly summer without adequate occupational health and safety protections, Human Rights Watch said this week.
The human rights watchdog spoke to 20 migrant workers from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan working in construction and app-based bike delivery in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE between February and May this year about heat and occupational health and safety issues.
Several Gulf nations enforce midday work bans restricting outdoor work between late morning and mid-afternoon from June through August or September—the sole heat exposure protection measure offered to migrant workers.
But growing scientific evidence has highlighted limitations of calendar- and time-based bans to shield workers from heat-related health risks.
“Despite a wealth of evidence on both global temperature increases and the severe health risks extreme heat exposure poses, Gulf states are dragging their feet on adopting adequate protections,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
He added: “Gulf states have the means and capacity to adopt these protections, including restricting working hours based on actual temperature thresholds rather than fixed schedules.”
Outdoor workers in particular are left to fend for themselves as they balance the pressures of extreme heat, physically taxing work, and employers’ demands.
A UAE-based road construction worker described working outdoors in 48°C temperatures in “unbearable” heat: “During summer, it becomes difficult to work by 7:30 or 8AM, but we have to work until 11:30AM no matter what. That is the most difficult time. How will we get through this year?”
Exposure to extreme heat can cause fatal heatstroke, exacerbate pre-existing conditions, impair cognitive function, and increase the risk of workplace injuries. Many Nepali workers have returned from Gulf nations with lasting damage to their health, including kidney failure.
Another UAE-based worker said, “Sometimes we hear news that someone in another company collapsed from the heat and died. When we hear that, we get goosebumps. We think, ‘Maybe tomorrow it will be our turn. We are also working in the same heat.’”
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report establishes that heat extremes have increased across the Arabian Peninsula, in large part due to human-induced climate change. Meanwhile, a 2024 study by the World Weather Attribution found that human-induced climate change has made heatwaves five times more likely and about 1.7°C more intense across West Asia.
App-based, bike delivery workers interviewed by Human Rights Watch said a lack of cool rest areas, poor visibility and vision distortion due to intense sunlight, and overheating of devices required for their jobs had direct health impacts like sunburn, dizziness and fainting.
Despite the risks, they said, platform companies continued to pressure them to complete time-sensitive deliveries, with the fear of losing their jobs making it difficult for them to refuse orders.
Some pickup locations provided rest areas and cool water, or air-conditioned buses, and others were able to adjust their schedules to include cooler night hours.
GCC countries such as Kuwait and Qatar have prohibited bike deliveries during summer midday ban hours, while UAE has mandated rest and cooling stations for bike delivery riders, announcing plans to expand rest areas.
“During the very hot three months, in some places, every 15-20 kilometers, there were buses with AC arranged for rest for bike delivery riders,” one worker said. “Water was also available there. If the heat was too much, we could rest there … but those were only in limited places.”
Experts say Gulf states must adopt heat protection measures and work-rest schedules guided by real-time Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index thresholds. Only Qatar, in 2021, introduced the index with an upper WBGT threshold of 32.1°C to stop outdoor work, but the threshold is too high and enforcement gaps remain.
“When we sweat a lot, the body becomes extremely weak,” one worker said. “But because of company pressure, we continue working. The mind says, ‘I can do it,’ but the body does not support us … Every season, someone collapses.”
Private employers have shown varying levels of commitment to ensuring occupational health and safety measures.
“On large sites, doctors are stationed. Good companies provide all facilities. In smaller companies, however, such facilities do not exist,” said a migrant worker.
Another worker added, “Some sites provide cool water, others don’t. To stay hydrated, you need to use the toilets frequently. But many construction sites did not have proper toilet provisions.”
A lack of strong evidence-based policies to prevent dangerous heat exposure combined with inadequate oversight from authorities has turned heat protections into a game of chance, Human Rights Watch said.
As it stands, migrants working in extreme heat are often at the mercy of supervisors and employers.
“We would feel dizzy when working in the heat. We would rest for 5 to 10 minutes after which the foreman would again call us to work,” recalled a Qatar-based masonry help. “If we laid down, he would immediately shout telling us to get up and work.”
A new International Labour Organisation treaty adopted on 12 June sets labour standards for gig work and requires governments to take adequate preventive measures to prevent occupational accidents, diseases, and other risks to workers’ health.
Human Rights Watch has urged Gulf governments to promptly ratify the convention and implement it in domestic law, including measures to adequately address extreme heat risks.
Said HRW deputy Middle East director Michael Page: “Rising global temperatures are making existing extreme summer heat in the Gulf more dangerous, especially for the millions of migrant workers who work outdoors without adequate rest and hydration. Gulf states should guarantee safety and health protections to all workers.”