Workers' Health in the Arab World: Is it on the Agenda?

Health is a human right for workers in every country and occupation. Though all people must work to provide for themselves, their families and communities, issues of workers' health have often been ignored. Yet, improving workers health has clear social and economic benefits—and, quite literally, it affects everyone. Workers in the Arab region face diverse challenges—migration, exploitation, and job insecurity—that results in poor health and a lower quality of life. But protecting these workers is hardly on the agenda for employers and governments. Likewise, academics in the Arab region have been relatively silent on the matter. Researchers have somewhat explored occupational health as it stems from places of work; yet the existing literature has not yet articulated how workers' health is affected by cross-cutting political, economic, and community developments. Adding to the existing but thin body of research, this paper aims to examine the major issues affecting workers' health with a particular emphasis on vulnerable groups in the Arab world. It will explore economic and employment concepts such as globalization, social exclusion, psychosocial workplace hazards, and government intervention and their impact on workers. The paper will identify gaps in occupational health research, address the need for a human rights perspective in the occupational health discipline, and appeal to local and regional decision-makers to take actions that enshrine the dignity of workers.