The poor treatment of migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates has caught the attention of the United Nations, which is launching an investigation into living conditions in the Gulf state for the group.

A complaint filed by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) for "non-observance by the United Arab Emirates of the Forced Labor Convention" of the International Labor Organization (ILO) spurred the discussion, according to RT.com The complaint said that migrants in construction and domestic workers were with "alarming frequency ... trapped in exploitative practices that may amount to forced labor," the Guardian reported.

Human Rights Watch and the ITUC said this means that foreign companies cannot rely on assurances from Abu Dhabi that workers will be treated well.

This isn't the first time such information has come to light. Last year, The Observer found evidence of abuse, including workers being left destitute due to illegal recruitment fees, deported for complaining about wages and going on strike, and being housed in slum-like camps. The report regarded Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), which reportedly had overseen the construction of new Guggenheim and Louvre museums.

The issues of recruitment fees and the strikes continue, based on the ITUC report.

Human Rights Watch said at least 146,000 domestic female workers from Southeast Asia are the most at-risk for verbal, physical and sexual abuse, RT reported.

In October, Human Rights Watch released a report with accounts from the workers.

"I would wake up to start cooking, then cleaning, washing clothes, and then cooking again. No rest, there was just no rest ... Because she kept yelling, I cried and asked to go back to the agency, but madam said 'I already bought you,'" a 23-year-old Indonesian domestic worker in Dubai told HRW.

ITUC's General Secretary Sharan Burrow called the situation of the domestic workers, "modern day slavery."

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