UAE LABOR: RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ABU DHABI 004175

SIPDIS

STATE PASS USTR FOR KARESH, ROSENBERG
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, DRL/IL (J.DEMARIA),G/TIP, G, INL, DRL,
NEA/RA
LABOR FOR ILAB, A.ZOLLNER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/02/2015
TAGS: ELAB PREL ETRD KDEM PINR PHUM TC
SUBJECT: UAE LABOR: RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

REF: A. STATE 117361


B. DUBAI 334

C. ABU DHABI 1333

D. DUBAI 4816

E. ABU DHABI 3144

F. ABU DHABI 3877

G. ABU DHABI 3437

H. ABU DHABI 3297

I. ABU DHABI 3194

J. ABU DHABI 3074

K. ABU DHABI 3002

L. ABU DHABI 2833

M. ABU DHABI 2495

N. ABU DHABI 2365

O. ABU DHABI 1873

P. ABU DHABI 1740

Q. ABU DHABI 1551

R. DUBAI 3469

S. DUBAI 3187

T. DUBAI 2287

U. DUBAI 1870

V. DUBAI 1709

Classified By: AMBASSADOR MICHELE J. SISON FOR REASONS 1.4 B


1. (C) Summary and Comment: Labor laws and practices in the
United Arab Emirates are in a state of flux; the young
Minister of Labor, Dr. Ali Al Ka'abi, is a technocrat
appointed in the November 2004 Cabinet reshuffle for his
energetic plans for reform rather than for family
connections. In the past year, the newspapers have announced
changes in regulations and practices on an almost daily
basis, leading to some confusion on the current state of the
laws. Despite Al Ka'abi's ambitious announcements, however,
there remain significant obstacles to change within the UAE
government and public. Many companies, some led by
high-ranking individuals, have balked at changes seen as
threatening the cheap labor supply they depend upon.
Regardless, the Ministry of Labor has publicly taken on some
of these companies, imposing heavy fines and blacklisting
them from bringing new employees into the country. Whether
these reforms and changes will remain law, and whether future
changes that will require significant political will, manage
to take hold and change the labor situation in the UAE
remains unclear.


2. (C) Summary and Comment Continued: Labor laws and
practices will likely continue changing for the foreseeable
future, as the UAEG attempts to meet the minimum labor
standards required for a free trade agreement. Post expects
that some of the laws and practices detailed (per ref A)
below may be subject to change as the reforms continue, the
expected revised labor law is passed by the Cabinet, and the
Ministry of Labor shake-up settles down. (Many personnel have
resigned in response to new internal regulations limiting the
number of companies MoL officials are allowed to sponsor--
attempting to cut down on potential corruption.)
Additionally, the UAEG has not yet responded to Embassy
requests for statistics on labor practices; the Embassy will
continue to follow up with interlocutors. End summary and
comment.

Administration of Labor Law
--------------

3. (U) The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is headed by
Minister of Labor Dr. Al Ka'abi, and by Under Secretary for
Labor Dr. Khalid Al Khazraji and Under Secretary for Social
Affairs Mariam Al Roumi. The Ministry has offices in each
emirate and additional offices in cities in Abu Dhabi and
Dubai emirates. Departments in the labor half of the
Ministry include: Labor Relations, Companies Affairs, Labor
Licensing, Inspection, Quality and Follow-up, Financial
Affairs, Services and Equipment, Legal Affairs, Public
Relations, and Administrative Affairs. In April 2005, Al
Ka'abi reassigned the directors of many of these offices in a
bid to reduce corruption.


4. (U) The number of inspectors in the labor division is
currently changing; many of the inspectors have resigned in
the past year. In response, the Ministry of Labor has
requested additional government funds to raise salaries for
inspectors. Historically, this division has been
significantly under funded. For example, U/S Al Khazraji
told Ambassador in September 2005 that cars have not been
funded for the division, requiring inspectors to either use
personal vehicles with no reimbursement or remain in their
offices. The Ministry of Labor has publicly and privately
requested a significant raise in funding, most to be used for
the inspectorate, but thus far, the money has not been
forthcoming. Statistics on number of inspections and fines
are not currently available, although the Embassy is
following up on the item.


5. (SBU) The labor dispute resolution process begins with a
complaint filed (in Arabic) to the Ministry of Labor, which
can then refer it to the court system if mediation does not
work. The Ministry encourages mediation since it is often
faster than the court system. For a thorough description of
the disputes process, see ref B. The cases sent to the court
system are sent to the court in whichever emirate the alleged
violation occurred. Court cases are quickly adjudicated,
labor cases are not subject to the fees that most court cases
are, and labor cases are expedited within the court systems.
When a case is delayed, the Ministry of Labor grants the
worker temporary permits to legally continue employment in
the UAE. Rulings are fully implementable, even against
sheikhs; there is not culture of impunity. Lawyers have told
Consulate officials that the courts generally rule in favor
of the workers.

Freedom of Association
--------------

6. (SBU) Current UAE labor law does not permit labor unions,
although professional organizations do exist (ref C) and
collective work dispute resolution is explicitly permitted.
The UAEG has not specifically indicated any intentions
regarding ILO Conventions 87 and 98. The right to strike is
not addressed in the law, but in practice the UAEG does not
retaliate against work stoppages by protesting laborers. For
example, in September more than 800 workers blocked the
highway in Dubai to protest unpaid wages (ref D). The vast
majority of strikes are in response to unpaid wages, and most
involve construction companies. To address this problem, in
the UAE's recent change in sponsorship practices (ref E)
workers who have not received salaries for six months or more
are allowed to change sponsors without receiving permission
from their first employer. Although the UAE could deport
workers for striking, it very rarely does. In one case, the
newspaper did report that a worker was deported for inciting
fellow workers to strike (not for the initial strike, but for
continuing the strike once the Ministry of Labor had begun
taking action on the case). Other employees at this company
who took part in the strike were not deported.


7. (SBU) No current law addresses unions, but the UAEG is
moving forward on this requirement in response to Free Trade
Agreement negotiations. The Minister of Labor told
Ambassador in September that they have decided against a
separate law permitting unions, instead including a clause in
the revised labor law expected within the next year that will
specifically allow the Minister of Labor the right to issue a
decree permitting labor unions. See ref F for a full
description of these intended changes.

Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
--------------

8. (SBU) Statistics on collective dispute settlement are
currently unavailable, although informal estimates are that
the vast majority of cases involve unpaid wages in the
construction sector. Money is frequently recouped through
this process, although sometimes the government grants the
employer a grace period. The reason the majority of unpaid
salary cases are in the construction sector is that
construction contractors or subcontractors, facing cash flow
problems due to late payments by primary contractors and/or
the fact that they have underbid the project, find themselves
with insufficient cash to pay workers on time. The
government has begun cracking down on this practice in a
number of recent cases, but fully changing the situation will
take a major change in the booming construction industry
where competitors attempt to sharply underbid each other,
sometimes at the expense of their lowest-paid employees.


9. (U) Although there have been no reports of anti-worker
rights discrimination, these practices would generally not be
reported in the local press. There have been no extreme cases
of anti-worker discrimination. Thus, there is no special
prosecutor assigned; such acts as beatings and murder are
rare in the UAE.


10. (C) Some members of professional associations have
alleged that the UAE State Security Directorate (SSD) has
subjected associations to harassment and close supervision.
Members have noted that the government and SSD have forced
out some association board members. (Note: Some teachers, who
were part of the unions, were removed from their positions in
2002 for Islamist tendencies. Professional associations have
strongly protested this act.) Recently, current Jurist
Association chairman Dr. Mohamed Al Mansouri reported that
the SSD wants to limit the speech of members of the
association and has stopped him from giving speeches on human
rights. There is no proof, either for or against these
alleged SSD acts. In any event that the SSD is almost
certainly monitoring the groups for potential ties to Islamic
groups rather than for worker rights activities.

Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor and Worst Forms of
Child Labor
-------------- --------------

11. (U) Embassy has reported on trafficking of persons
throughout the last six months, see Refs G through V.

Minimum Wage
--------------

12. (U) The UAE does not impose a minimum wage or have
minimum wage guidelines, but in practice Ministry of Labor
officials inspect all contracts to ensure compliance with
legally required benefits, allowances, and time of payments.
In the UAE, the majority of contracts provide for housing
allowances, transportation to home country annually, and
educational stipends for children in addition to the base
salary. UAE citizens can receive social insurance benefits
from the government if they do not earn a sufficient salary.
Foreign workers usually remit the majority of their salaries
to their home countries, and their daily living needs
(housing and food allowances) are often provided separately
from the base salary. If workers have not been paid due
wages, they have the right to file a complaint with the
Ministry of Labor, and eventually escalate the case to either
arbitration or the court system. New regulations on
sponsorship transfer also allow workers to change employers
without a letter of no-objection if they have not been paid
their salaries for six months or more -- without sacrificing
entitlement to those monies from their first employer.

Hours of Work
--------------

13. (U) There is little reporting on hours of work or
overtime regulations, although it is believed they are
generally enforced. In the summer of 2005, the government
imposed a four-hour work break for outdoor laborers during
the hottest hours of the day during July and August in an
attempt to reduce the number of heat exhaustion cases. A
number of companies refused to obey this decree, and the
Ministry of Labor imposed heavy fines and blacklisted many
from receiving permits for new workers until they agreed to
give their workers the required break. Workers may file
complaints with the Ministry of Labor if these laws are not
obeyed.

Occupational Safety and Health
--------------

14. (U) In addition to the occupational safety and health
regulations contained in the labor law, each emirate and
locality has its own occupational health and safety codes.
The Under Secretary of Labor told Econoff in July that the
Ministry of Labor is unsure of all the codes that exist, and
is hoping to enter into a consultative relationship with the
International Labor Organization (ILO) to review and
coordinate all existing health and safety regulations in the
UAE. He did not expect action to be taken during the summer,
but hoped for an agreement to be reached with the ILO this
fall. Although inspectors do attempt to enforce health and
safety regulations, there are insufficient inspectors and
resources to adequately enforce these regulations. There are
frequently reports in the press of cases of workers who were
killed on the job site as a result of inadequate safety
measures. The Ministry of Labor is aware of the problems,
both in terms of regulations and adequacy of inspections, but
lacks sufficient resources to address the problem in the
short-term.

Foreign Workers
--------------

15. (U) No new law is being formulated to expressly address
this situation of foreign workers in the UAE; any new
regulations will be included in the revision of the labor
law. However, the UAE has issued a number of new decrees in
the past months to open up the labor market to freer movement
by workers (refs E and F). These laws are so new, however,
that their implementation has not yet been fully decided by
the Ministries of Labor and Interior. For example, although
the Ministry of Interior has abandoned the six-month
immigration ban on workers who leave their original jobs, the
Ministry of Labor recently announced a delay of six months
before offering a worker a new labor permit if an attempt is
made to change employers without a letter of no-objection.
Withholding of passports by employers remains illegal in the
UAE, though it is still widely practiced. There have been no
recent or consistent attempts by the Ministries of Labor or
Interior to enforce the regulation prohibiting holding of
passports.
SISON