NEW CONSULATE COMPOUND -- ENSURING LABOR BEST PRACTICES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBAI 000279

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/FO; NEA/ARP/BMASILKO; OBO/CFSM/CM/DHOGAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV AMGT PHUM AE
SUBJECT: NEW CONSULATE COMPOUND -- ENSURING LABOR BEST PRACTICES

REF: G/TIP REPORT

DUBAI 00000279 001.2 OF 002



1. (SBU) Summary: With significant recent negative media
attention focused on labor issues in the UAE, including the UAE
being downgraded in the annual TIP Report (reftel),the
Consulate General is working with the Bureau of Overseas
Buildings Operations (OBO) and the contractor B.L. Harbert, to
ensure Dubai's New Consulate Compound (NCC) project will meet or
exceed all UAE labor laws and standards. With all parties
agreeing on the importance of the issue, the Consul General
visited the former "Atlantis Man Camp"--the Palm Jumeirah labor
accommodation where some of the NCC workers are housed--on June
10, 2009. The camp is a clean and orderly facility that appears
to comply with or exceed all relevant UAE and Dubai standards.



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NCC Basics

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2. (U) Projected to be completed by 2011, the NCC is being built
in Bur Dubai on a six-acre site adjacent to the Dubai Creek and
the Consulates of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, on land donated to the
U.S. by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of
Dubai. The Department contracted with Harbert to construct the
NCC project. OBO has direct hire Foreign Service staff onsite
providing oversight of the entire construction effort.



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Local Labor Issues

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3. (U) Harbert plans to fully comply or exceed local labor laws
including in key areas such as recruitment, contracts, housing,
and healthcare.




4. (U) Labor recruitment: Harbert is using contract labor from
several Asian countries -- the majority from India. Harbert
pays all recruiting fees and prohibits its recruiters from
charging additional fees to employees. (Less scrupulous
recruiters often charge employees exorbitant fees at times
exceeding the equivalent of two years' wages, which ultimately
place these employees into debt bondage situations.) Harbert's
policy clearly states that it would immediately cease its
association with any recruiter found violating this policy.




5. (U) Labor contracts in local languages: The employment
contracts used by Harbert are standard Dubai government-approved
contracts. Official copies are presently available only in
Hindi, Arabic, and English. However, Harbert is considering
having the contracts translated into several other sub
continental languages, such as Malaysian and Urdu as the need
arises.




6. (U) Guaranteed salary payment: Harbert workers are paid one
grade above the current prevailing Dubai wage levels for similar
positions making Harbert's salaries higher than most
competitors. Harbert's minimum guaranteed salary is AED 950 per
month for an unskilled worker, higher than other projects in
Dubai. Harbert employees are also paid time and a quarter for
overtime and time and a half for Friday or night work. Harbert
pays contract workers (via exchange house "UAE Exchange," also
use by the U.S. Consulate in Dubai) in cash once a month at the
exchange rate agreed upon in the employee's original contract.
Employees have the option to remit some or all of their salary
for a percentage fee via UAE Exchange. (Comment. It has been
reported that some laborers find themselves in situations where
they sign a contract -- in their country of origin -- and agree
on a salary, but discover later that the salary has been
changed. Harbert ensures it pays employees the rate agreed upon
in the original contracts, and will ensure that the correct
rates are stated when the contracts are translated into the
employee's local language. End Comment.)

DUBAI 00000279 002.2 OF 002






7. (U) Availability of passports: Many employers control the
movement of their employees by taking possession of their
passports upon arrival in the UAE. Harbert does hold all of its
employees' passports in a secure facility on the construction
site for their security; however, we have been assured that the
passports are available to any worker upon request. (Note:
Harbert's American managers keep their passports in the same
secure facility.)




8. (U) Healthcare: With a full-time nurse and nurse's assistant
on the construction site and a doctor and nurse operating a
medical clinic at the labor accommodations, immediate concerns
or emergencies can be addressed quickly. Treatment for an
injury sustained on the jobsite will be funded by Harbert.
Workers are subject to Dubai workmen's compensation rules
regarding onsite injuries. Harbert informed the Consul General
that all workers have 100 percent self-insurance as well as AED
50,000 deductible health insurance policy. Professional third
country nationals have been offered additional elective coverage
through AETNA, but due to costs, few, if any have opted to
purchase it. Additionally, medical matters are being managed
through Harbert's contributions to the UAE Ministry of Labor and
the American International Group-UAE (AIG-UAE). With regard to
payments to these two entities for medical injuries, Harbert
provides medical benefits and contributions per UAE labor laws
for each worker.



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Labor Accommodations

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9. (U) Background: The former "Atlantis Man Camp" is located on
Dubai's man-made, exclusive Palm Jumeirah Island, directly
adjacent to the Atlantis Hotel and waterpark. It is managed by
Kerzner group. According to camp General Manager Kamlesh Bajaj,
the camp exceeds all UAE federal and Dubai standards and is
often cited as a "model camp."




10. (U) Built originally to support the 4000-strong workforce
that built the Atlantis, Harbert currently has 60 workers living
in the camp, with a planned maximum of 275 to 300 later this
year. The no-smoking camp is clean and orderly, with a series
of barrack-type buildings, similar to basic training military
barracks. The Consul General visited the camp on June 10, 2009
with OBO's Construction Manager and Harbert's Project Manager.
The camp buildings--clean and air-conditioned-- include
kitchens, multiple dining halls, movie rooms, recreation rooms,
and a "news" viewing room. The sleeping barracks are built on
four blocks of 32 rooms; each room can sleep up to eight
workers, but Harbert houses only six workers per room. (Note:
Photos of the Atlantis camp are used in local regulations for
what a "model accommodation" should look like. Food at the camp
is clean and plentiful; workers eat in a cafeteria with no
restrictions on portion or servings.)




11. (SBU) Harbert has reviewed the accommodations of Hennessy
Inc, its principal subcontractor at the NCC project site, and
confirmed that Hennessy's labor policies match Harbert's
regulations and policies. Harbert has also provided
documentation which indicates that Hennessy's accommodations in
Dubai meet or exceed UAE laws and standards.
GAVITO