UAE PRESIDENT DEFENDS LABOR SITUATION IN THE UAE

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 000599

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR NEA/ARP AND DRL
STATE PASS USTR AARON ROSENBERG

E.O. 12958: DECL N/A
TAGS: ELAB PHUM PGOV PREL SOCI GTIP AE
SUBJECT: UAE PRESIDENT DEFENDS LABOR SITUATION IN THE UAE


1. (U) Summary: On March 28, 2007, local Arabic and English language
dailies, released an interview by the London-based Arabic daily Al
Hayat with UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The
interview discusses, among other issues, the situation of the
expatriate labor force and the imbalance of the population
demographics in the UAE. In the interview, Sheikh Khalifa rejected
international reports criticizing the labor situation in UAE, citing
the large remittances to countries of origin by expatriate workers.
End Summary.


2. (U) Shaikh Khalifa said, "We admit the demographic imbalance in
the UAE, as do all other Gulf countries." He went on to say that
because of this situation, it was inevitable that the UAE would need
to employ a large expatriate labor force. "However, it is not
impossible to control the situation, and we are making efforts to
adjust the imbalance to safe levels to properly handle it in a way
that preserves the security of our country and the identity of our
citizens."


3. (U) Sheikh Khalifa continued by saying that most of the recently
published reports on the rights of expatriate laborers in the UAE
fall short in their reasoning and include a great deal of unfairness
and arbitrariness. "The reports intentionally ignore the UAE's
efforts to protect the rights of expatriate workers and to provide
them with the means to lead a proper life." "Based on our belief in
the significance of expatriate workers, as well as in the fact that
we need them, the UAE has been keen to make laws and rules to
regulate their entry, residence and work to make sure their rights
are protected according to national laws and international
treaties," said Khalifa.


4. (U) Khalifa continued by saying, "We have developed a health
insurance system to include all groups of expatriate workers and
have set up a court to take care of their complaints and grievances.
The UAE has also introduced adequate procedures to provide health
and safety standards for workers in their accommodation as well as
in their work places. The Ministry of Labor has created an
investigative body that is charged with making sure those standards
are met."


5. (U) Khalifa also mentioned the fact that foreign workers remit
large sums of money to their home countries: "It is regrettable that
those unfair labor reports make no mention of those aspects and
completely ignore that expatriate workers remit to their countries
annually sums that amount to 8 to 9.5% of the UAE's GDP." During
the Pakistani National Day reception, on March 25, the Pakistani
Ambassador Ahsan Ullah Khan announced that the 700,000 Pakistani
nationals in the UAE collectively send $800 million USD in annual
remittances to Pakistan.


6. (SBU) Comment: Government officials are very concerned about
international criticism of the labor situation in the UAE and
frequently link the expatriate labor issue to anxieties over
"security" and the perceived threat to national identity. Although
the UAEG does not propose to include labor unions in the new law, it
has taken discernible steps to improve the condition of foreign
workers and to respond to international criticism. End Comment.


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