UAE blocks low-paid workers from driving - report

SPOT THE MENIAL: Workers without a university education face a driving ban. (Getty Images)

Certain foreigners living and working in the UAE will no longer be able to obtain driving licences if they are doing jobs considered to be menial, UAE daily the Gulf News reported on Sunday.

Nurses, cooks, housemaids, gardeners and tailors top a list of 100 occupations in which workers without a university education will no longer be granted licences, the English-language daily said.

It quoted a Sharjah police official as saying the authorities were invoking an existing law, rarely applied in the past, to curb the number of cars on the roads.

Licensing officials and driving schools were ordered last week to check applicants' residency permits to determine if they were eligible to drive, he added.

"The move is meant to reduce the huge number of vehicles by limiting the number of professionals allowed to obtain driving licences," the official was quoted as saying.

It was not clear from the report whether the rule was being imposed across the country or only in Sharjah.

The UAE has also decided to ban renewing the road licences of vehicles more than 15 years old as of 2010, in a bid to curb congestion and pollution.

The first phase of a modern metro system in the emirate will not be completed until September 2009.

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READERS' COMMENTS

UAE blocks low-paid workers from driving
Posted by faheem, Abudabi, UAE on Monday 15 December 2008 at 17:37 UAE time

UAE has given us tremendous opportunities. I love this country because I am a second generation expat. I have seen my father working hard to earn and we are maintaining his legacy.
Although the UAE is in its infancy, the country has advanced very much and the role of expats is tremendous. The locals and government are treating us with respect and trust like no other country.
But this kind of rule is not consistent with the country's long tradition. The core of this problem is educating the drivers. I think nowhere in this world is there such a law and there is no research to prove that this will reduce accidents.

The current situation
Posted by M. Alshamsi, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Friday 12 December 2008 at 12:17 UAE time


For the people who believe themselves professionals in this country and made some comments below, please be subjective when directing your "emotional" blowouts. Saying that "who would deliver thier KFC, and who will wash their cars" just shows that the problem with the increase of expats is not the effect it has on the population, but is allowing people that lack the basic principles of a respectful, decent human being, whether professional or not to pour in uncontrollably. I would never say "leave the country" because it's not the expats fault, who is looking for a better life, its ours for allowing such uncontrollable flow. for the people who think we cannot live without "them", specifically, look closely and you'll see that more than 90% of the services present in dubai serve expats, who serve expats in return, who if lucky would be providing a service for locals if not serving another expat. Please, whoever has come to the UAE less than 10 years ago, don't dare to think that you have "built" the country. Ask expats more than 25 years about their experiences in the country and you will get a true insight on how the majority of them led a comfortable life, most of them when asked if they want citizenship would deny because they don't need to have one to lead a happy life here. I respect those people, and respect low-paid workers for leading a decent life, and respect other expacts who follow such principles. This law may not be perfect, and brings out more controversy than solutions, but it is in no way a reason to go all out on locals, which i am saddened to see happening everyday. Our society has its flaws, and being only 37 years old, it is considered an infant society. Don't use that as a target, and respect the fact that we are learning and improving, not for our wellbeing only, but for the wellbeing of the society as a whole.

Day to Day drive
Posted by Donald Duck, Dubai, UAE on Wednesday 10 December 2008 at 10:24 UAE time

In a day to day drive to work and to home I didn't see that the "low-paid workers" as they were called are the reason for the massive traffic in the streets. I mean when you're stuck in traffic just look around you, how many workers you'll find driving? they're either in a bus, or walking home!! I don't think that the real rationality of this rule was to limit traffic. There must be something else that we're not aware of

Professionals
Posted by Vinodkumar, Muscat, Oman on Sunday 7 December 2008 at 19:36 UAE time

Nurses are certified professionals. Any body downgrading them is making a grave mistake in their lifetime while insulting them. The housemaids, cooks, tailors and gardeners are not certified professionals but any person with dignity of labour will vouch their life experience and demand in their chosen trade. That itself is enough to make them professionals. They may be lowly paid highly in demand in all countries. It is the world system failure that they are not certified. Is low salary the criteria for such rules? I pray that rulers close their eyes and look deeply inside them before implementing such rules. Let all souls receive equal rights in the right direction.

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