The UAE will struggle to retain its huge Indian workforce if it fails to keep pace with rising salaries in Asia, the head of a Dubai-based Indian Business & Professional Council has said.
Employers in the Gulf state will need to keep pace with wages in India, where salaries surged 11.1 percent last year on rising economic strength, to retain talent, said Paras Shahdadpuri.
Minimum wages for unskilled foreign workers in the UAE are as low as AED600 a month, with skilled workers receiving AED1,200 a month, according to the Indian Embassy, Abu Dhabi.
“I think this a very good move honestly. I think people are paid very low. AED600, tell me, is that really fair?” said Shahdadpuri, who is also chairman of electronics firm Nikai Corporation.
“I think it’s extremely low and that’s why productivity is less and that’s the reason good quality workers will not come abroad. They’re making better money in India and they can spend time with their families and live there.”
The Indian Ambassador to the UAE was reported as saying the government plans to enforce a minimum wage for Indian nationals hoping to work in the UAE.
If approved, the ruling will mean workers only receive immigration clearance from India if their employment contract meets with a set minimum wage.
Gulf employers are already learning to compete with India’s economic growth. A survey by GulfTalent earlier this month showed Asian professionals in the Gulf saw a 6.1 percent jump in their pay packets last year, compared to just 3.2 percent for Western professionals.
Shahdadpuri said wages must improve if the UAE is to continue to attract expatriates.
“If we continue to give foreign workers the same wages that they were being given in previous years, you may not get quality employees here,” he said.
“You’ll get trash that is not good for the name of India and not good for this country to import. If you want quality employees, you need to fall in line with what’s available in India and you need to better that income for them.”
Enforcement of a realistic minimum wage for foreign workers would go some way towards cutting down employment disputes, he added.
“They [the UAE government] would like to see a worker who is not exploited, who is paid according to his agreement. There’ll be less labour disputes, less headaches and lesser court cases. It is in the interest of the UAE government that employers abide by the [proposed] law.”
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