ANOTHER STRIKE MEDIATED AND RESOLVED BY THE

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 001240 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 AMEMBASSY TUNIS HOLD FOR FSI: OLIVER JOHN 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: ANOTHER STRIKE MEDIATED AND RESOLVED BY THE LABOUR MINISTRY REF: A) ABU DHABI 941, B) ABU DHABI 1090, C) ABU DHABI 1204 ¶1. (U) Seventy five expatriate workers went on strike and refused to return to work until they were paid, reported the local press on March 13. The laborers accused a contracting firm of failing to pay their salaries for three months. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs investigated the allegations and convinced the workers to return to work assuring them that they would be remunerated. After the investigation, at the Ministry's urging, the firm paid the employees' wages. ¶2. (SBU) Comment: This is another example of the generally benign attitude of the UAE government towards labor disputes. Local press has prominently reported recent strikes by laborers in the UAE, and though work stoppages/strikes are not technically sanctioned by the law, government officials have urged workers to come to the Labour Ministry if they have disputes with their employers (see C). The government is also moving forward with legislation to formally recognize unions and clearly define their roles (see A and B). Wahba