Around 88 percent of those working in Qatar are migrant labourers. Bal Krishna Gautham is one of them.
The professional painter originally comes from Nepal and he had hoped for a good life and a regular income when he immigrated to this Gulf state. But reality has caught up with his aspirations. Like many other migrant labourers in Doha, Gautham earns a pittance: Depending on the job, he makes between €150 and €350 a month. In a country where a salary of €3,000 only puts a wage earner into the lower middle income bracket, that is not enough to live on. Additionally the working conditions are bad. “When I do a job for Qatari clients, I am often not allowed a toilet or meal break,” Gautham recounts. Like many others here, Gautham doesn’t have any set working hours and he only gets Fridays off.
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At first glance, 21 percent seems like a lot. But the picture is not complete unless one takes into account other numbers too.
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