Minimum wage still under review

The UAE has yet to reach a decision of whether to introduce a minimum wage as part of efforts to stem growing labourer unrest at the low salaries paid by contractors in the Emirates, labour minister Ali Abdullah Al Kaabi said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a press conference, Al Kaabi said a minimum wage was still under review and that the Labour Ministry had commissioned a report into the possibility of introducing one.

"A study is currently underway,” the minister said, “but we have not reached a decision on whether to introduce the minimum [wage], or whether it would be implemented on a federal level or not.”

It is common for construction workers in the UAE to can make as little as 500 dirhams ($136) a month.

Asked when the study will be complete, Al Kaabi said only that he wanted “a detailed and thorough study”, and that, “we have not set a date when the research must be finished.”

Regarding the issue of wage and private contracts, Al Kaabi said it was not up to the government to intervene in the dealings of private companies, saying that “we are an open sector”.

The UAE cabinet last month called for an urgent review of construction workers’ salaries following a spate of high-profile protests that have focused worldwide attention on the plight of labourers in the Emirates.

The cabinet also directed the ministry to draw up a set of standards for worker accommodation to cover all industry sectors, which it stressed should be strictly enforced nationwide.

At the conference Al Kaabi announced a number of protections to be afforded to both skilled and unskilled workers in the New Year.

Starting in January, all companies employing foreign labour will be required to make wage payments electronically, minimising the risk of employers short-changing their workers of failing to pay them on time.

“This way we can drill down into the paperwork to make sure employers are acting in accordance to their obligations,” the minister said. Currently only 150,000 unskilled laborers are paid electronically.

Any employer found in violation of the wage payment laws will be fined 10,000 dirhams.

Asked when he expected companies to comply with the new regulations, Al Kaabi said: “We expect companies to wait until the very last day to make the change. They do this with every law we make.”

Compulsory health cover, which is already in effect in Abu Dhabi, will also be introduced across the rest of the emirates next year, he said.

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