UAE strives to improve expat workers’ condition

 (Wam) / 23 June 2013

The UAE provides an attractive environment for foreign workers of 200 different nationalities, adopting comprehensive strategies to protect their rights and improve both their working and living conditions. In this context, and as part of its commitment to improve the standards of workers’ accommodation in line with international standards, the UAE has approved the Manual of the General Criteria for Workers’ Accommodation. The decision emphasises employers’ responsibilities to provide workers with accommodation commensurate with international labour standards. Each facility operating in the country has to upgrade its workers’ accommodation conditions to comply with these standards.  In implementation of this decision, Abu Dhabi has invested about Dh20 billion ($5.4 billion) in 23 workers’ “cities” which are capable of providing accommodation for 385,000 workers. These complexes have been built in line with the new manual which stipulates that all labour accommodations must include its own medical clinic equipped with full services, parking, yards, walkways, mini-market, green spaces and playgrounds. Other innovations in the efforts to protect workers’ rights are aimed at introducing greater flexibility and freedom of movement in the labour market, and establishing a balanced contractual relationship between employer and worker. At the same time, access to effective legal remedies in the event of a labour dispute have been vastly improved. In particular, the Ministry of Labour (MoL) has set up a collective labour disputes committee, with representatives of workers and employers in each labour office. The committees must issue a decision on a dispute within two weeks of referral. Their decisions can be challenged before an appeal court within 30 days of issuance. In yet another significant stride in this regard, the MoL has launched  the Wages Protection System (WPS) to safeguard payment of workers’ wages via transfers through selected financial institutions. These transfers will be regulated by the government. Furthermore, foreign workers are guaranteed the right to send their savings to their home country and in 2012, approximately Dh70.46 billion was remitted overseas for the benefit of workers’ families.