New office to protect foreign workers’ income
22 October 2008
The United Arab Emirates Labour Minister has created a special office to monitor the regular payment of salaries to foreign workers, Gulf News reports.
The new department will have the task to assure that employers respect commitments with their foreign workers.
The measure is the latest in a series of interventions that the Emirate government is adopting to protect the rights of its most vulnerable workers, the majority coming from Asia.
Last week a court in Dubai condemned an entrepreneur to pay a multi-billion dollar fine for having hired 94 illegal workers while a series of inspections were conducted in housing supplied by the company for its workers to verify its liveability.
Despite efforts of the authorities and the clear position taken by Sheik Mohammad al Maktum who defined those who exploit foreign workers as "traitors", in the world of manual labour in the UAE, many abuses remain.