PROTESTING LABORERS AT DUBAI CONSTRUCTION SITE DAMAGE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBAI 001842

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE PASS TO USTR FOR DBELL, LKARESH, AROSENBERG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/26/2016
TAGS: PGOV ECON ECIN ASEC PREL ZP AE
SUBJECT: PROTESTING LABORERS AT DUBAI CONSTRUCTION SITE DAMAGE
PROPERTY

DUBAI 00001842 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Jason L. Davis, Consul General, Dubai, UAE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(e)



1.(SBU) Summary: On March 21, approximately 2500 laborers at a
huge Dubai construction site, protesting their work conditions,
smashed windows of vehicles and other equipment belonging to
their employer. The laborers, 90 percent Indian, then refused
to work for another day and a half, leading to approximately one
million dollars in combined lost productivity and damaged
property. Dubai Police told RSO the incident posed no threat to
nearby residents or businesses. Most local press coverage was
sympathetic to the plight of the workers and at least one Friday
sermon stressed the need to treat workers humanely. End Summary.

Protest at Burj Dubai
--------------

2.(C) On the evening of March 21, approximately 2500 laborers at
a huge construction site that includes the "Burj Dubai" --
planned to be the world's tallest building on completion in 2008
-- grew frustrated at their work conditions and staged a protest
that culminated in large numbers of the workers smashing
equipment belonging to their employers. B.S. Mubarak, the
Indian Labor Attache in Dubai, told PolEconoff the workers -- 90
percent of them Indian -- damaged roughly 20 vehicles (broken
windows and dents from thrown rocks) and wrecked several
timecard machines. Mubarak -- who has spoken about the matter
with Dubai's Permanent Committee of Labor Affairs -- said the
million dollar figure in damages is almost solely lost
productivity, rather than damaged property.

3.(U) The protest was covered in the local media, and was even
picked up by AP, which led to coverage in the international
press. Lieutenant Colonel Rashid Bakhit Al Jumairi, an Interior
Ministry official investigating the matter, was quoted in the
local Khaleej Times newspaper saying workers trashed on-site
offices - breaking windows and computers - consistent with
various reports of rock throwing. (Note: In addition to Burj
Dubai, the construction site in question encompasses more than
20 other towers being built concurrently. Samsung Corporation,
the main contractor for the Burj Dubai, said in a press release
that work continued at Burj Dubai itself, and that the
protesting workers were idle only on surrounding buildings.
PolEconOff drove past the construction site on the afternoon of
March 23 and saw no activity at any of the buildings. While the
road offered little view of the surrounding ground level, no
evidence of a riot or damaged vehicles was readily apparent. End
Note.)

4.(U) The laborers' main complaints centered on poor
transportation service from their residence camps to the
construction site (requiring long unpaid waits before and after
their shift),an insufficient number of timecard machines
forcing workers to wait long periods before clocking in and out
and causing some "late" workers to be docked pay, and inadequate
medical care. Workers did not claim unpaid wages, a common
feature of many protests in the UAE, though many called for
higher wages and overtime pay.

5.(SBU) Laborers returned to the construction site but refused
to work until mid-day March 23, and even then, according to a
Khaleej Times eyewitness, only after being threatened with
deportation. The Dubai branch of the UAE Labor Ministry served
as an intermediary between the workers and their employer,
subcontractor Al Naboodah Laing O'Rourke (a private joint
venture founded in 1977 between Al Naboodah and John Laing Group
of the UK),seeking to identify and resolve the workers'
complaints. Labor and police officials condemned the
destruction of property but did not make any arrests, vowing to
prosecute future vandalism. The company has reportedly already
revised the bus schedule, arranged for more timecard machines
and agreed to provide better medical care. It will also not
dock workers' pay for the protest period or late attendance
where they are not at fault, according to Mubarak and the
Khaleej Times.

6.(U) Meanwhile, on March 22, around 2500 other laborers also
employed by Al Naboodah Laing O'Rourke participated in a brief
strike at the construction site of Dubai International Airport's
new terminal, as a sign of solidarity.

Dubai Police: Incident Posed No Threat

DUBAI 00001842 002.2 OF 002


--------------

7.(C) In response to inquiries related to international press
reports of a violent protest in Dubai, RSO spoke with Colonel
Abdullah Khan, Dubai Police, who said there had indeed been an
incident on March 21 at 1920, in the vicinity of the Burj Dubai.
Police confirmed the destruction of some property but indicated
there was never any threat. The incident had no effect on
residents or businesses in Dubai, most of whom learned about it
by reading coverage in local papers Thursday -- two days after
the initial protest. Unlike some previous labor protests, the
Al-Nabooda workers did not leave their construction site or
impede traffic flows. The Burj Dubai construction site is
approximately 2 miles south of the Consulate in a large patch of
former desert just off Sheikh Zayed Road, a major thoroughfare
flanked by hotels and apartment buildings, including several
that house Consulate employees.

Widespread Sympathy Toward Worker Conditions
--------------

8.(SBU) The incident generated several opinion articles
sympathetic to the workers. A Gulf News column stated, "Nothing
less than more intensive campaigns to enforce rights of workers
and inspection of labor camps can put an end to this problem."
Likewise, a government approved Friday sermon in Dubai March 24
extolled the value of treating hired help well. "Employers must
not be unjust and not grant laborers their rights, because these
laborers have left their homes and children and now they are
dealing with loneliness in strange countries in order to help
their families."

Comment
--------------

9.(SBU) While labor protests are increasingly common in the UAE,
this event is one of very few incidents involving foreign
workers featuring violence or rioting. The vast majority of
labor protests in the UAE have been peaceful and have not
involved destruction of property. The government is trying to
defuse tensions before protests happen by offering hotlines to
report unpaid wages and asking local consulates to tell their
citizens to file complaints with the ministries before engaging
in protests.

10.(SBU) Increasing government attention to the plight of many
foreign laborers in the UAE, and the recent tolerance for
peaceful protest, may indicate the UAEG is moving toward a
greater openness to collective worker action, although the UAE
has not yet committed to allowing collective bargaining for
foreign workers. A year ago, it was highly unlikely that
workers would risk protesting, out of fear that they would be
immediately deported.
DAVIS