The United Arab Emirates warned on Sunday it would review labor ties with countries refusing to take back citizens in the UAE, including those who have lost their jobs or been put on leave, as coronavirus spreads among low-wage foreign workers throughout the Arabian Gulf.
Millions of migrant workers, mainly from Asian countries, including Nepal, India and the Philippines, are among the region’s large expatriate population. The UAE, the Arabian Gulf region’s tourism and business hub, is home to a large migrant worker population and has the second highest coronavirus tally in the region at 3,736 cases with 20 deaths.
It said one option under consideration was to impose strict quotas on work visas issued to nationals of those states.
