DUBAI - The human rights of migrant workers - the lifeline of the UAE's economy - are not negotiable and will be protected, the country's labour minister said on Wednesday, calling for "honest debate" to improve their condition."The UAE is very conscious of the contribution contractual workers make to its economy and in return is committed to protecting their rights and to empower them to fully benefit from their residency in our country," Saqr Ghobash said, speaking at a migration conference in the Greek capital Athens.
"We need to weigh up the costs and benefits of migration from the standpoint of all stakeholders if we are to make migration truly beneficial to all.
"It goes without saying that, in the course of doing so, the fundamental human rights of all people are not to be considered negotiable."
The UAE has also come under fire from media and human rights organisations alleging that living and working conditions for the country's labourers - most of them from the Indian Subcontinent - are bleak and in some cases violate human rights.
Ghobash's comments came a day after Indonesia said at least 1,750 of its citizens in the Middle East, mostly domestic workers in Saudi, Kuwait and Jordan, will be repatriated starting next week amid claims they are being mistreated.
Indonesian manpower minister Muhaimin Iskandar also said that his country would stop sending workers to the three countries.
More than 80 percent of the UAE's population is made up of foreigners. Around 4 million foreigners live in the country and the majority of them are labourers from the Indian Subcontinent.
''We would like to open an honest debate about the nature and scope of essential social services that could and ought reasonably to be provided to temporary migrant workers, bearing in mind the cost-benefit implications for all involved," Ghobash said.