NEWS FROM THE U.A.E.
Excerpts from UAE Dailies
Workers' rights website lobbies for unions in UAE
Dubai: 17 January 2006:A website dedicated to lobbying for workers' rights in the UAE was praised by a senior labour official as a means to hear labourers concerns.
The website mafiwasta.com , launched in January last year was created to help empower workers against what the website's author called "debt bondage," and petition the government to allow workers to form unions.
Mafiwasta, which broadly means 'no favouritism', includes a petition to the government, asking it to sign up to the International Labour Organisation's conventions that allow freedom of association.
Dr Khalid Khazraji, Labour Undersecretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, said he took the website "very seriously."
"I follow it because it concerns me. I want to know what people are thinking, and this is one way labourers can make their voices heard."
Dr Khazraji said although he could not comment on the website's legality, he said it was a valid channel for people to express their opinion "in a peaceful way."
"As an authority, I see this as a channel which can put workers voices through, and it reaches me, so I can see what labours think and want."
"I follow it because it concerns me. I want to know what people are thinking, and this is one way for labourers to make their voices heard." Dr Khalid Khazraji Labour Undersecretary.
Combating the abuse of workers
Sophie Brescia (not her real name) said she and her friends created the website to combat the the abuse of workers.
"For every case that makes the newspaper there are probably several unreported. Salaries are withheld, overtime is not paid, passports are confiscated, healthcare is denied, accommodation is cramped and unsanitary, and complaints are met with "if you don't like it you can go home."
"That is not the case. Many workers accrued a significant amount of debt to get to the country and exist in a state of debt bondage. The workers we encountered in our time here often felt cheated and trapped and totally powerless," she said.
GULF NEWS
Snags hit electronic transactions at Labour Ministry
ABU DHABI — 17 January 2006: Efforts are underway to fix a hiccup in the operation of the electronic transaction system at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs after it malfunctioned and failed to accept a major investor-related transaction.
An official source told Khaleej Times that the system failed to accept the 'investor labour card's cancellation' command, and that a number of ministry officials were working to fix the snag. The official said he expected things to return to normal today.
The 'investor labour card's cancellation' order was an option in the past, but later became a compulsory procedure. The ministry decided to make the procedure mandatory for all those classified as investors who were issued labour cards in the past and never cancelled them. But some investors or Public Relations Officers (PROs) in their companies could not have the transactions completed as the system failed to accept the command.
The investors' visas were in the past granted by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs like other categories. But after investors were exempted from the condition to have labour cards and all their transactions were transferred to the Department of Naturalisation and Residency to issue special cards for them in accordance with decree no 951 of 2003, the relationship with the ministry was terminated. There were 58 investor cards registered in Dubai alone when the implementation of the decision began almost 18 months ago.
Not all investors/partners obtained the investor status. Only the first name mentioned in labour licences got the status, while other names mentioned in the licences were given ordinary labour cards from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in accordance with their job titles.
The ministry had granted a grace period two years ago to investors to cancel their labour cards without imposing any fines, and the period lasted till July 20, 2004.
Investors were given a permit from the ministry to be transferred to the Department of Naturalisation and Residency to have a new labour card issued from the latter department, and transactions of their establishments were completed during the grace period with no hassles.
Officials at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs at that time stressed that investors would not be able to get new labour cards from the Department of Naturalisation and Residency till they cancel their labour cards issued by the labour authorities and get a letter addressed to the Department of Naturalisation and Residency, but this was never implemented.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Six have brush with horror in the hills of Khorfakkan
ABU DHABI — 17 January 2006:A night out in the open, pitching a tent in hilly terrains and unwinding under the star-lit skies could be appealing and exciting, but for a group of six picnickers from the capital, it turned out to be a tryst with horror.
The six had chosen the hilly terrains of Khorfakan for a fun-filled night during the Eid holidays, and went through the motions of outdoor activities, singing and dancing. They, however, did not reckon with others lurking in the vicinity, and they were a pack of 30 creatures, probably wolves or foxes. Their nightmare had begun.
"It was a terrifying experience and we spent the rest of the night huddled inside our four wheeler, without food and water, as we were afraid to venture out to our tent, pitched about 10 feet away from where the vehicle was parked," Pradeep Paul from Hyderabad, India, told Khaleej Times, recalling the horror the group had gone through in the remote location.
"We reached the spot at around five in the evening and pitched the tent. The camp fire was also lit. We were having real fun, singing, dancing and chatting when my sister Julie noticed something moving behind the bushes, a few feet away from the tent. It was almost 8.30; the fire was doused and we could clearly see a few pairs of eyes glowing in the night.”
KHALEEJ TIMES
Shop owners for better garbage disposal facilities
ABU DHABI — 17 January 2006: Shop owners have demanded that the Public Health Department of Abu Dhabi Municipality come up with an alternative for the collection of paper and aluminium waste.
In a meeting held this week, the traders urged the health department officials not to confine their work to merely issuing fines and warnings, and should, instead, come up with practical ways to dispose waste produced by these outlets.
The traders complained that they have to pile up the garbage in their stores to avoid violating the health department's directive.
On his part, Sultan Al Meherbi, Head of the Health Control, said that the four private companies assigned to collect the garbage should be held responsible for providing a suitable alternative. He pointed out that the Public Health Department on their part have specified certain areas from where garbage can be collected.
Al Meherbi also called for confronting the scavengers’ phenomenon, whereby the area aound dumpsters are left in a mess by those who collect cartons and aluminium. Studies show that the cost of collecting and recycling each metric tonne of garbage is approximately Dh75 ($20). Disposal of aluminum waste alone in the emirate is estimated to cost Dh60,000,000 a year.
The Emirates Industrial Bank has said that the various municipalities could play an effective role in the recycling process of this garbage, by assigning specified garbage containers for aluminum, carton and paper. The bank included in its report that there are five small factories in Dubai, Sharjah and Fujairah with a joint production capacity of 8,000 tonnes a year, where local waste can be recycled.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Racketeering in visas must be stopped
UAE - 17 January 2006: FOR the second time, investigations have revealed that about 400 Indian labourers, who work in one of the companies in Ajman, went on strike because they had to pay a lot of money for securing visas to enter the UAE.
For example, one of the labourers says that he had to pay Rs100,000 and that led him to be indebted, like his other colleagues.
We had earlier called upon the officials of the countries located in the Indian subcontinent to confront and stand up against this phenomenon of sale of visas in their countries.
The Indian Embassy should study the phenomenon of the rise in numbers of Indian workers who commit suicide due to indebtedness. The workers say they feel sorry for what happened to them because their families also need money to pay back their debts. If one cannot pay his debts, he will feel confused and frustrated, and that will lead to many psychological problems.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Drivers not moving vehicles after mishaps will be fined
DUBAI — 17 January 2006: Traffic Police will impose fines on drivers who don't move their vehicles off the roads after minor accidents, a top official has warned.
Brigadier Mohamed Saif Al Zafin, Director of General Department of Traffic, has called upon the drivers to move off the roads immediately in case of minor accidents and help avoid traffic jams. The drivers should pull over and wait until the arrival of the police in such cases, he said.
He pointed out that the minor accident, which took place yesterday on the Emirates Ring Road caused a traffic jam.
A speeding water tanker driven by A B overturned when switched to the right lane. The accident caused traffic congestion and delayed motorists on their way to work. After some time the Dubai traffic police patrols and emergency police managed to remove the truck and get rid of the water which had flooded the road.
He called upon the drivers and the public not to stop or slow down their vehicles to view the traffic accidents even if they were on the other side of the road, as such actions disturb the police personnel.
Meanwhile, Captain Abdullah Yousuf Al Ali, Head of Traffic Section at Muraqqabat Police station said that the traffic movement section has recorded 26,711 traffic violations during the last year. This is the highest number of traffic violations since the establishment of the section.
He said that failing to abide by the lane rule topped the list of violations with 10,241 tickets. A total of 2,797 tickets were issued for traffic obstruction, 2,574 for not leaving enough distance, 2,001 for parking in prohibited areas, 83 for overtaking from the road shoulder, 330 violations for overtaking vehicles in a risky way, etc.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Dh3 million insurance claim rejected as policy is expired
DUBAI – 17 January 2006: The Dubai Court of Cassation has upheld the verdicts of lower courts, and rejected a lawsuit filed by a company demanding a compensation of Dh 3,337,302 from an insurance company in a fire accident case.
The verdict was based on the fact that the insurance expired on August 1, 1998, while the fire accident took place on December 7 the same year.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Staff forced to pay fines without being at fault
Dubai: 17 January 2006: Many companies force workers with expired labour cards to pay their own fines, even though they are not at fault, a labour official said, because they are able to threaten workers with even worse if they do not pay.
Ali Rashid, an official from the Follow Up Department at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, said he handled cases where workers were seeking to rectify their status usually expired labour cards with a heavy heart.
"In most cases, I know they have paid for fines they didn't have any role in accumulating, because their companies threaten them if they don't pay the fines themselves."
He said it was considered a given for workers to pay fines, and many workers did not think twice before paying them off "even if it's Dh5,000, which is a year's salary for some of them."
Rashid was responding to the dozens of companies and workers who came yesterday to the labour ministry to take advantage of a grace period until February 28, for companies with labour card violations to only pay Dh5,000 and not the total amount incurred.
Under the terms of the grace period, if a worker has an expired labour card, the fine is Dh5,000. If there is a sponsorship transfer or the worker is absconding, the fine will be Dh5,000.
One way of threatening workers was through denying them sponsorship transfer papers, because under the new grace period, companies could effectively sell sponsorship papers to workers with expired labour cards for Dh5,000, officials said.
Rashid said it was just as easy to threaten a worker with absconding and get them deported.
Even though workers are not meant to pay fines or even labour transaction fees, many end up doing so, but have no legal recourse to reclaim the money.
GULF NEWS
Lucky escape
Dubai - 17 January 2006: A pedestrian had to be pulled out by passing motorists after a ten-foot high fence was blown onto him by strong winds yesterday. Nine cars were also damaged when the wooden and metal fence, which surrounds a building site on Sheikh Zayed Road, was flung into the street.
“The man was completely covered [by the fence]. He was screaming for help,” said Shivaprakash, whose Honda Civic had its windscreen smashed in the accident.
“I jumped out of my car and lifted the fence off him with three other men.” The man was not badly injured, and did not need hospital treatment, witnesses said. “There was a heavy breeze and the fence flew apart,” said Shivaprakash.
“I saw it flying towards me and the next thing I knew my windscreen was smashed. The side of my car was damaged too.” Taxi driver Kassim was driving past the building site, next to the Fairmont Hotel, when he saw the fence flying towards him.
“Luckily I wasn’t carrying a passenger as the right side of my vehicle was badly damaged and they would have been injured,” he told 7DAYS. A spokesman for Carrie and Brown, which runs the construction site, refused to comment on the accident.
The drivers of the damaged vehicles went to Bur Dubai police station, where a representative of the construction company was called. Police declined to comment on the incident.
Seven Days
BROKEN DREAMS AND A PARALYSED BODY
He came to the UAE on a visit visa to provide a decent living for his family back in India. Like thousands others, he too had sold his home to fund his journey to the oil rich country. In the end,...
Hari Singu Banothu, the desperate man was forced to leave the UAE in a wheel chair, half his body paralysed along with his broken dreams.
It was an accident at his work site that put an end to his dreams, paralysing him below the abdomen, with no control over his urinary bladder. But that was not all. For Hari Singu, hailing from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh in India was also a victim of the malpractice indulged in by visa racketeers.
According to Hari Singu, he had reached Ajman in 2004 on a visit visa. "I had sold my home to pay the Rs. 1.5 lakh needed to obtain the visa from an agent. I did not know at the time that the unscrupulous agent had cheated me by issuing a visit visa instead of an employment visa. Since I could not find a steady job I did many odd jobs here and there till November 2005. For two months I was in the hospital without being able to move," he said.
Hari Singu lamented that his situation was pathetic since he cannot work anymore in his life." I don't know how I will find the money for medical assistance or provide bread and butter for my family," said the tearful man before he left the UAE.
He alleged that the company he was working for illegally had not bothered to help him. "They did not even come and visit me in the hospital. They just don't care about people like me. They did not give any money also." he added.
"Authorities of Dubai Rashid Hospital, Indian Community Welfare Committee (ICWC) Dubai and 'The Valley of Love', a social organisation are helping to send me back home. But I don't know what I will do at home," he added. " The hospital authorities did not charge me any money for my treatment. The immigration officials also helped me by not imposing any fine on me for staying in the country illegally." he said.
And like many other poor illegals, Hari Singu returned home accompanied by his broken dream in a paralysed body.
KHALEEJ TIMES