UAE 'committed to improving lives of expat workers'

UNSKILLED WORKERS: The UAE has pledged to improve conditions for workers such as construction labourers. (Getty Images)

Protecting the human rights of expat workers in the UAE is a top priority for the government, a top official has announced.

Anwar Mohammed Gargash, minister of state for foreign affairs, in a statement delivered to the United Nation’s Human Rights Council in Geneva, said ensuring the fair and on-time payment of salaries was a "particular priority".

And he announced that the government was working on a new law designed to give domestic workers "greater protection and assurances".

The new initiative, he added, would particularly benefit women, who are a major component of this segment of the workforce and would take forward the 2006 decision of enforcing mandatory employment contracts to protect the rights of domestic workers in relation to salary, accommodation, healthcare and working hours.

Gargash told the council on Thursday that the UAE considered enforcement of policies aimed at protecting the rights of workers as "critical:.

"Improving working conditions is another area for action that has seen noticeable progress. In 2007, 122,000 facilities were inspected by the labour ministry personnel, resulting in penalties for 8,588 violations related to working conditions and workers' rights," he said.

In a move to ensure more accountability, efficiency and transparency among its employees, the Ministry of Labour has also introduced a complaints hotline for the public to record grievances.

The minister told UN delegates that the UAE was proud to have developed into "an open, modern Arab and Islamic model for the region with over 200 nationalities among its workforce".

But he admitted that such diversity also brought challenges, and the conditions and regulations for our workforce remained "a work in progress".

He added: "For the UAE, respecting labour rights is a moral, cultural and economic imperative."

Most labour issues, he said, concerned expatriate workers, especially the unskilled segment, which has made a significant contribution to the growth of the economy.

More than 3.1 million foreign workers are contractually employed in the UAE.

"As the country moves ahead on its development path, we are doing our best to ensure that no person living, working and contributing to this society undergoes any form of abuse or exploitation," he added.

"The government is fully committed to creating the necessary mechanisms and safeguards to protect all who reside and work in the UAE, and is working on several fronts to address the challenges."

Gargash added: "We acknowledge that we face many challenges ahead, but we will continue to work harder, to improve on what we have achieved thus far. We reiterate that by its inherent and fluid nature, this will continue to be a work in progress, but we are fully committed to addressing labour issues."

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