UAE LABOR UPDATES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 000286

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE PASS TO USTR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ELAB PREL ETRD AE
SUBJECT: UAE LABOR UPDATES


1. (U) Summary: On January 22, Econoffs met with Dr. Khalid
Al Khazraji, Undersecretary for Labor Affairs, at the
Ministry of Labor to discuss recent changes to the UAE labor
system. Dr. Al Khazraji explained the procedures for filing
a labor complaint and for changing sponsorship and also
discussed the MOL,s position on strikes. The U/S noted that
the 2005 labor statistics are not currently available but,
tentatively offered to give Econoffs some of those statistics
when they become available. The U/S did verify that 2.7
million workers are currently registered with the MOL. This
does not include government workers, workers in the free
trade zones or domestic servants since these groups are not
covered by the labor laws. Al Khazraji estimated that there
are more than 100,000 workers at the free zones with possibly
around 45,000 government workers. (Note: the government
figure seems low. According to IMF reports, 264,000 people
worked in government services and 200,000 worked as domestics
in 2004.) The Ministry of Interior recently announced new
changes in the law regarding domestic workers. Emboffs have
raised the issue of protecting the rights of domestic workers
with UAEG officials as part of our discussions of actions the
UAE needs to take to be removed from the Tier 2 Special Watch
List and to receive a more favorable rating in the 2006
Trafficking in Persons Report. We expect labor laws and
practices to continue changing in the foreseeable future, as
the UAEG attempts to meet the minimum labor standards
required for a free trade agreement. End Summary.

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Dispute Resolution
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2. (SBU) Econoffs asked Al Khazraji about workers, rights to
strike in the UAE. The U/S said the labor law does not
mention the right to strike, and that the government does not
retaliate against protesting workers. Al Khazraji said that
the MOL encourages workers to file a complaint before
striking, while adding that striking was often the only way
workers could get their complaints resolved. He specifically
mentioned a recent strike in Sharjah by workers of the
Perfect Group. Local press reported that on January 14 more
than 1,500 Indian and Bangladeshi workers of the Perfect
Group, and 2 other companies, protested unpaid wages and
inhuman living conditions. The striking workers told the
press that they lack health insurance and said that if they
get sick they were fined AED 100 ($54 USD) a day. Some
workers from the Perfect Group also claimed that they were
beaten and were locked out of their accommodations for one
day after the protest. Dr. Al Khazraji noted that, &the
Perfect Group is not so perfect,8 but asserted that the
problems had been resolved to the benefit of the workers.
(Note: In order for the USG to sign an FTA with the UAEG,
the UAE,s labor laws and regulations must afford adequate
and appropriate protections for workers to form organizations
and federations of their choosing to represent them in
defending their employment interests. End note.)


3. (SBU) Al Khazraji explained the complaint process, which
must be filed in Arabic, and described it as &easy.8 The
complaint form must list the employee and employer,s names
and a brief description of the grievance. After the
paperwork is filed, MOL inspectors and legal advisors visit
the work site to investigate the allegations. After the
investigation, the MOL holds a mediation session with the
worker and the employer. According to Al Khazraji,
approximately 85% of collective dispute cases are settled at
the MOL. The rest are referred to the courts. After a
decision is reached, both parties sign an agreement which is
binding. The MOL then follows up with the employee to see if
the terms of the agreement have been upheld. Al Khazraji
said that requiring the complaint be filed in Arabic helps
reduce the administrative burden on MOL,s labor relations
officials, which would otherwise have to take the depositions
directly in several languages. If the worker is not able to
type up the complaint in Arabic himself, he can pay 10 AED
($2.50 USD) to a typing service to have the form prepared,
noting that the typists understood the forms and speak both
Arabic and the languages of the workers.

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MOL Sponsorship Transfer Regulations
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4. (SBU) Al Khazraji also clarified changes to the UAE labor
regulations pertaining to changing employers. All workers
who enter the country on a labor permit are limited to the
number of times that they may change employers under that
permit. Under the rules, highly skilled foreign workers
(those holding graduate or professional degrees) are allowed
to transfer jobs after one year, with no limit on the number
of changes possible. Workers holding bachelor,s degrees are
allowed to change employment after two years, with a maximum
of two transfers. Unskilled workers are permitted to change
employment after three years, but can only change once. In
each case, leaving the UAE for 6 months and filing for a new
labor permit restarts the process, i.e., allowing the worker
more transfers. The fees to change sponsorship range from
AED 400($1,500 USD) for professionals to AED 5,000 ($1,350
USD) for unskilled workers. Al Khazraji said that the
purpose of the higher fee for unskilled workers is to make it
harder for them to switch employers. Unskilled laborers make
up a large percentage of the workforce and the employers of
unskilled workers are the most likely to engage in visa
trading.


5. (U) Al Khazraji explained that any worker who wishes to
change jobs must have a letter of "no-objection" from the
sponsoring employer, unless they have a valid reason to
dispute their existing labor contract (such as non-payment of
wages for at least 3 months) or if they complete their
contract. Only those workers who do not meet either of the
exceptions listed above, and do not have a letter of
"no-objection" must leave the country for six months before
changing employment. The U/S stated that this is not written
in the law, but it is the normal practice of the MOL. Al
Khazraji also said that if an employee had not also finished
the legal minimum time in country (see para. 4)*i.e., 3
years for an unskilled worker, he would have to leave the
country for 6 months before beginning a new job. The MOL
also has the ability to administratively transfer workers in
response to problems that have not been resolved for 3 months
(such as unpaid wages.) The new sponsor is responsible for
paying the change-over fee.

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MOI Sponsorship Transfer Regs for Domestic Servants
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6. (U) Econoffs also asked Al Khazraji about the recent
changes in the sponsorship transfer rules for maids. The U/S
said that although domestics do not fall under the purview of
the MOL, he is aware that the Ministry of Interior has been
working on updating the regulations. Press reports say that
effective February 1, the one-year entry ban has been lifted
for all domestic servants who complete their two)year
contracts. Rashid Al Khedar, legal consultant of the General
Directorate of Naturalization and Residence at the Ministry
of Interior, was quoted in Gulf News as saying, &these
workers will be allowed to obtain an employment visa
immediately following canceling of their visas without ban.
They will also be allowed to transfer sponsorship once for up
to 90 days. This privilege will be granted only if the
domestic help complete their job contract and give a notice
of at least 30 days before the end of the contract. These
two conditions can be scrapped if the original sponsor agrees
to the transfer.8 UAE officials have promised to develop
and implement an effective legal mechanism for protecting the
rights of foreign domestic workers and laborers, possibly by
extending them formal legal protection under the UAE,s labor
law. The Tier 2 Watch List Action Plan we shared with the
UAEG last fall also calls for a public awareness campaign
highlighting the rights and obligations of domestic workers
and laborers, and the consequences of abusing such workers.

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Revised Labor Laws
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7. (SBU) Econchief ended the meeting by asking about the
status of the updated labor laws. Al Khazraji said that he
hopes that the law will be passed soon. Press reports
confirm that the UAEG has passed a copy of the draft labor
law to the ILO for comment.
SISON