Progress

Housing complexes closed to protect workers' rights (GN)

Good Tidings:
The labour ministry has shut down more than 100 workers' accommodations for unhygienic living conditions. The ministry has been engaged in a major and concerted programme to ensure that the living and working conditions of the country's expatriate workforce is improved.

The article continues,

the UAE Government has, since last summer, been engaged in a major and concerted programme to ensure that the living and working conditions of the country's expatriate workforce is improved... The workers living in those complexes have been provided with temporary housing pending the completion of new housing built to international guidelines. Some of these new complexes have already been opened, and others are being rapidly built... Over the next few months, the number of inspectors should reach over 2,000, 20 times the number that there were in summer 2006, an indication of the seriousness with which the government is tackling this task.

UAE engaged in major drive 'to tackle labour issues (GN)

Problems to be addressed:

• health & safety


• quality of accommodation


• timely payment of salaries


• recruitment issues


• minimum wage

  The ministry is also preparing proposals for the introduction of a minimum wage structure, at first in the construction industry, and then to be expanded to other sectors...

Commentary

In brief, the above is representative of concrete steps the government is taking to improve conditions for laborers. It is a big step in the right direction and, significantly, a long awaited anouncement of a minimum wage for contstruction workers seems eminent.

Go to latest In the News post or In Support of UAE Laborers home.

Human Rights Watch Issues Report, Introduction

Press Release
hrw.org, 12 Nov. 2006

As the United Arab Emirates experiences one of the world’s largest construction booms, its government has failed to stop employers from seriously abusing the rights of the country’s half million migrant construction workers, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.full article

Commentary

The HRW press release of 12 November set the tone of a 71-page report detailing the problems facing construction workers in the UAE. The immediate result of the report may be to effectively put the spotlight on Dubai and this issue, especially in terms of international press coverage. Whether it will have the lasting effect of leading to better conditions for these workers remains to be seen.

Not only an activist organization, the HRW attempts to work with governments on the issues it highlights. The excerpt below reveals a little about the organization's approach to the UAE government:

On October 27, Human Rights Watch communicated its findings and recommendations to the UAE government in a letter. Shortly thereafter, on November 7, the prime minister ordered the labor minister to immediately institute reforms based on Human Rights Watch’s recommendations. Specifically, the prime minister’s decree directed the labor minister to set up a special labor court to resolve labor disputes, increase the number of government inspectors, require employers to provide health insurance for low-skilled workers, and develop mandatory mechanisms enabling workers to collect unpaid wages. Human Rights Watch welcomed this swift response and inherent acknowledgement of the problem of abuse.

In addition to its press release and 71-page report, HRW provides a multimedia presentation on the topic at its website. The collection of photographs in the slideshow presentation dramatizes the contrast between the plight of the workers and the upscale lifestyles they labor to build. The presentation and parts of the report are made available in Arabic and Hindi or Urdu, in additon to English.

Go to latest In the News post or In Support of UAE Laborers home.

Human Rights Watch Issues Report, p1

Building Towers, Cheating Workers
Exploitation of Migrant Construction Workers in the United Arab Emirates
hrw.org, Nov. 2006

This Human Rights Watch report addresses the abusive conditions faced by migrant construction workers in the UAE, specifically their exploitation by employers, and the UAE federal government’s failure adequately to address these abuses. Through interviews with workers, government officials, and foreign embassy representatives, as well as a survey of media reports in news and trade journal publications, we highlight what appears to be the most common concern of the construction workers: extremely low wages, typically withheld by employers for a minimum of two months along with their passports, as “security” to keep the worker from quitting.full report

Commentary

Beginning with its title, the report levels hard-hitting criticism at labor practices in the UAE with particular regard to the plight of construction laborers. Numerous issues are raised which point to wrongful and illegal practices by companies and a government which, having issued laws or decrees to address these issues, fails to implement them. The report also goes on to call for action by foreign governments to better protect and support their own nationals:

Foreign governments have a role to play in ensuring respect for the rights of migrant construction workers in the UAE. The economies of source countries benefit tremendously from the remittances of expatriate workers in the UAE... They need to clamp down on local recruitment agents who charge workers fees in connection with their employment in the UAE, and they should prohibit the charging of such fees entirely. Their embassies in the UAE should also make proactive efforts to address the needs of their expatriate citizens, providing them with advice and assistance should they encounter difficulties with employers.

What is interesting is that as a resident in country the past 6 years and one who has paid attention to labor issues with more or less interest during that time, I find little if anything that is news here. That is not to diminsh the value of the report but rather to highlight that if anything its writers appear to have taken a cautious approach to any criticism or charges made.

It also suggests that the problems are so prevalent that the ordinary man on the street in the UAE, with no direct connection to such issues, is aware of the extremes and abuses that exist. The incredibly low wages, withheld pay and passports, difficult and dangerous work conditions... topics such as these figure regularly in the media.

In Part 2 of this post I shall detail in point form the exact criticisms and suggestions presented in the report summary, from which the above excerpts were taken. Broken down in such a fashion, the issues will be easier to examine, and it may be possible at some later stage to codify what improvements, if any, have been made. In the meantime, the reader is advised to review the report and make his own judgements.

Postscript:

What is the Human Rights Watch? In their own words:

Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice. We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable. We challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law. We enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all.

Human Rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization, supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. It accepts no government funds, directly or indirectly.

Go to latest In the News post or In Support of UAE Laborers home.