Low productivity of Arabs a 'myth' - professor

WORK ATTITUDE: No population should be described as productive or non-productive, said professor Lootah. (Getty Images)

The low productivity of Arab workers is untrue and should not be used as an excuse for hindering human resource development in the region, according to a leading professor of social sciences.

The comments were made by Hessa Lootah, associate professor at the college of humanities and social sciences at the UAE University, on the sidelines of the Human Resources and Development in the Arabian Gulf conference, last week.

It was a myth that Arab workers had a poor attitude to productivity that stemmed from imperialism, Lootah, who has carried out extensive social science research in the region, told UAE daily Gulf News.

"If you read into the literature of colonialism, this has always been the way local people were talked about whether they are Arabs, Latin Americans, Indians or Pakistanis," she said.

Lootah spoke out after the low productivity of Arab workers was pointed out out at the conference as one of the roadblocks stopping human resources development in the region.

"The idea that Gulf nationals are unqualified is a misguided concept, existing only in the Gulf.

The essence of this is that the Gulf countries are undeserving of their wealth, and it should therefore be taken from them," she added.

It was wrong to classify the entire population of any nation as productive or non-productive, Lootah said.

"It is only normal that a nation comprises of people with varied degrees of productivity-from high to medium to low," she concluded.

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