Salary Discrimination in the GCC: Why Asian Employees Are Paid Less and How to Change It

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries—UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain,are home to one of the most diverse workforces in the world. Walk into any construction site, oil rig, or corporate office, and you’ll find employees from South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe working side by side. Yet, despite doing the same jobs, or sometimes even more demanding roles, Asian employees, particularly from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and the Philippines, are often paid significantly less than their European or Middle Eastern counterparts.

This glaring salary and benefits disparity has been an open secret in the Gulf for decades, yet few are willing to talk about it.

Why the Partiality Exists

1. Perception of “Market Value” Employers often justify salary gaps by citing “market value” in employees’ home countries. A European engineer may be paid three or four times more than an Asian engineer with the same qualifications because employers assume the European has higher financial expectations. The Asian professional, on the other hand, is expected to accept less because wages in their home countries are lower.
2. Colonial Legacy and Prestige Bias There is still a lingering bias that European or Western employees bring more “prestige” or “quality” to an organization. This outdated mindset results in Europeans and Westerners being overvalued, while Asian employees are undervalued despite often being more experienced in local operations.
3. Supply and Demand Dynamics The Gulf relies heavily on Asian workers because they are willing to accept lower pay, especially in construction, oil & gas, and service industries. The high supply of Asian labor gives employers bargaining power, which fuels wage suppression.
4. Lack of Wage Transparency Salaries are often negotiated individually and not standardized. Without transparency, workers from Asia accept lower offers without realizing their colleagues from Europe or the Middle East are earning double for the same work.
5. Weak Collective Representation Labor unions are either restricted or tightly controlled in GCC countries. This leaves Asian workers without a collective voice to challenge discriminatory pay structures.

Consequences of the Pay Gap

• Morale and Motivation Issues: Workers who know they are underpaid compared to peers from other regions feel demotivated.
• High Turnover: Talented Asian professionals often leave for fairer markets.
• Reputation Risk: Companies that maintain such disparities risk being accused of modern-day exploitation, which damages their global reputation.

How This Partiality Can Be Overcome

1. Salary Standardization Based on Role, Not Nationality Compensation packages should be benchmarked against the job role, skills, and experience, not the passport of the employee. A safety officer from India and one from Germany should receive the same pay if they perform the same duties.
2. Greater Wage Transparency Publishing salary bands for roles within organizations will prevent discrimination. This discourages companies from exploiting workers who lack negotiating power.
3. Government Policy Reforms GCC governments could introduce legislation mandating equal pay for equal work, similar to international labor laws. Some progress has been made in areas like gender equality, but nationality-based wage discrimination remains largely unchecked.
4. Stronger Enforcement of International Labor Standards Global organizations such as the ILO (International Labour Organization) can push for stricter monitoring of wage practices in GCC countries. Multinational companies operating in the region should also be held accountable to their global codes of conduct.
5. Educating and Empowering Workers Workers, especially from South Asia, need access to awareness campaigns, legal aid, and advocacy platforms to understand their rights and push back against unfair pay practices.

Final Word

The GCC has built its skylines and oil fortunes on the backs of Asian labor. Yet, these very workers often face systemic pay discrimination compared to their European or Middle Eastern colleagues. As the region seeks to diversify and globalize its economies, continuing such inequities not only undermines human dignity but also tarnishes the image of the Gulf as a modern, inclusive business hub.

Equal pay for equal work should not be a controversial demand; it should be the minimum standard.