WILDCAT STRIKE RESOLVED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 001204 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/RA, DRL AND EB/CBA STATE PASS OPIC/OPIC INTERNATIONAL POLICY DEPARTMENT FOR VIRGINIA GREEN AND HARVEY HAMBURG USDOC FOR 4530/ITA/MAC/ONE/DGUGLIELMI, 4520/ITA/MAC/ONE/CLOUSTAUNAU, 4500/ITA/MAC/DAS/WILLIAMSON, 3131/CS/OIO/ANESA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB PREL PHUM PGOV SOCI CVIS TC SUBJECT: WILDCAT STRIKE RESOLVED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE LABOUR MINISTRY REF: A) ABU DHABI 941, B) ABU DHABI 1090 ¶1. (U) Local press prominently reported the resolution of a strike by forty laborers against a contracting firm on March 11. The employees stopped working for a week to protest the decision of the firm to pay them daily instead of monthly (why daily payments were perceived as pernicious by the workers is not clear). Though the original work contract mandated daily payments, the employer had been paying wages on a monthly basis for the previous six months. The Labour Disputes Section of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs dispatched a team to investigate the complaint and mediated an agreement between the parties, convincing the workers to end their protest. The Ministry sided with the workers and concluded that since they had been paid monthly for the last six months, the original contract was superceded. The contractor agreed to abide by the Ministry's decision. 2.(SBU) Comment: As this example demonstrates, workers in the UAE enjoy some degree of latitude when it comes to exercising their rights. The environment fostered by the government is generally permissive, explaining why the occasional work stoppage/strike, while technically unsanctioned in law, is nonetheless viewed benignly by the authorities. Although these informal rights are not inconsiderable, the UAE federal government--in an effort to further modernize the economy -- is nonetheless pushing forward with formal legislation to institutionalize unions and clearly define their role (see reftels). Wahba