From Socialist Worker…
Thousands of construction workers walked out on strike in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last Saturday. The laborers, mainly from South Asia, were attacked by police as they protested for higher wages.
They responded by occupying a building and pelting police cars with stones. The state rounded up workers and deported them.
Strikes have now become commonplace in a country where unions are banned and the overwhelmingly migrant workforce faces repression and exploitation.
Oil dollars have made the UAE, a key US ally, a haven for the global rich, where huge glittering seven star hotels, indoor snow parks and mega building projects have sprouted from the sands.