UAE threatens deportation after violent protest

The UAE Ministry of Labour on Saturday threatened to deport anyone involved in violent protests after workers clashed with police in Dubai during a demonstration over pay and conditions.

Employees of an unnamed contracting company took to the streets in demand of a pay rise, better housing and improved transport services in the early hours of Saturday morning, reported state news agency Wam.

The demonstration turned violent when police tried to remove the workers from blocking Jebel Ali Industrial Road, with some of the protestors hurling stones at police and passing motorists. One passerby sustained minor injuries, reported UAE daily Gulf News.

The ministry has called their actions “uncivilised” and said it would not hesitate to demand deportation of the "rioters" who assaulted police vehicles and public property.

“The ministry will not vacillate in taking necessary measures to deport whatever numbers of workers found responsible for such [illegal] acts,” Minister of Labour Ali bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi said in a statement following the protests.

“We will not be lenient towards whoever tampers with the security of the state and safety of residents.”

The road remained blocked for over 20 minutes at 5am until police removed the workers and cleared the road, the newspaper said, quoting Colonel Abdullah Al Gaithi, deputy head at Dubai Police establishment, security and emergency department.

"The protest turned violent when the workers started to throw stones at the police patrols and motorists. One motorist got minor injuries," Al Gaithi said.

The Ministry of Labour has said it warned protestors to report back to work or have their residency visas cancelled and their passports stamped with a life ban from entering the UAE, Wam said.

The workers were also told they would have their after service benefits denied for flouting the provisions of their labour contracts if they did not return to work.

According to assistant ministry undersecretary for labour affairs Hamid bin Demas, the workers strike was an illegitimate method of expressing demands, which could have been stated officially and peacefully through lodging a complaint with authorities.

“Assault against the public order and properties is completely unacceptable,” he said.

Demas added that the ministry had obliged the contracting company to increase the number of buses carrying workers from the work site to their accommodation and to provide decent housing.

However, the company refused to meet the demand of salary hikes as it breached the labour contracts signed with the workers, Demas said.

The workers are demanding a salary increase of 200-400 UAE dirhams - their current basic salary is 600-800 dirhams, according to Gulf News.

The contracting company has six accommodation colonies housing 4,000 workers.

Dubai police in March intervened in a similar labourer protest after 400 construction workers blocked rush hour traffic on Dubai's Sheikh Zayed Road protesting for higher wages.

The protest followed three other strikes earlier that month - in Sharjah and Al Ghusais - that saw workers from several construction companies demanding to be paid on time, or for salary increases.

According to a Human Rights Watch report last year, migrant workers have resorted to public protests and strikes in an attempt to improve working conditions. UAE government figures show that between May and December 2005, at least eight major strikes took place.

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READERS' COMMENTS

UAE threatens deportation after violent protest
Posted by Hussain Motabagani, Khobar, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday 31 October 2007 at 00:00 UAE time

I agree with everyones comments. What I found funny was the term "illegal protests". I don't recall any protest in the Middle East ever being "legal". However like I've mentioned in other topics, the minimum wage system is the missing "key" ingredient not just in the UAE but all over the Gulf and Arab countries across all industries. I also agree with VB's comment.

UAE threatens deportation after violent protest
Posted by VB on Monday 29 October 2007 at 16:00 UAE time

The essence of the matter here is that there is no need to use violence but at the same time it's funny that they say that their behaviour is 'uncivilised' when they are treated like uncivilised beings. You cannot justify their treatment by saying that they get paid much more than what they would be paid at home. These people have helped turn UAE into what it is today.

UAE threatens deportation after violent protest
Posted by Rohinton Bilimoria, Dubai, UAE on Monday 29 October 2007 at 10:00 UAE time

That is an excellent decision. Every human being needs to be disciplined in life. While saying so, I would like to stress on Ministry of Labour introducing the Minimum Wages Act (MWA). The current inflation in the country does not allow the labour class to survive in petty sum of AED 600 to 800. Even though the employers give accommodation, such petty amounts are not enough for their living. While the UAE is forging into major developments, it is of prime importance for the Ministry of Labour to look into the MWA. Ministry of Labour should also review the Holidays Act and the Health Insurance: 1. National Holidays falling over the weekends 2. Health Insurance from the Employers is long overdue for all the categories of the employees.

UAE threatens deportation after violent protest
Posted by C Adam, Dubai, UAE on Sunday 28 October 2007 at 19:00 UAE time

Of course violence is not an answer to anything. However, it is entirely reasonable that a worker should get a living wage and 600-800 AED with substandard living and working conditions isn't happy. This kind of demonstration is just an expression of desperation, not an act of malice. If Dubai is serious about gaining the world's respect workers need to be protected. Dubai is a caring society after all.

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