Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03ABUDHABI1204
2003-03-12 13:52:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Cable title:  

WILDCAT STRIKE RESOLVED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE

Tags:  ELAB PREL PHUM PGOV SOCI CVIS TC 
pdf how-to read a cable
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Diana T Fritz 05/24/2007 04:53:30 PM From DB/Inbox: Search Results

Cable 
Text: 
 
 
UNCLASSIFIED

SIPDIS
TELEGRAM March 12, 2003


To: No Action Addressee 

Action: Unknown 

From: AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI (ABU DHABI 1204 - ROUTINE) 

TAGS: ELAB, PREL, PHUM, PGOV, SOCI, CVIS 

Captions: None 

Subject: WILDCAT STRIKE RESOLVED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE 
 LABOUR MINISTRY 

Ref: None 
_________________________________________________________________
UNCLAS ABU DHABI 01204

SIPDIS
CXABU:
 ACTION: ECON 
 INFO: DCM P/M AMB POL 
Laser1:
 INFO: FCS 

DISSEMINATION: ECON
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: DCM: RAALBRIGHT
DRAFTED: ECON: GARANA
CLEARED: ECON: TEWILLIAMS

VZCZCADI033
RR RUEHC RUCPDOC RUEHZM
DE RUEHAD #1204 0711352
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121352Z MAR 03
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8823
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHZM/GCC COLLECTIVE
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

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