NEWS FROM THE UAE
Excerpts from UAE Dailies
Hundreds of workers lose everything to fire
DUBAI — AUG 08: A massive fire broke out in a local contracting company’s labour camp near Dubai Investment Park in Jebel Ali yesterday morning. However, no casualties were reported, according to police and Dubai Civil Defence (DCD) sources.
The blaze completely gutted the 10 caravans used for housing the labourers, all of whom were luckily at work when the fire broke out. However, all the valuables and belongings of over 1,000 workers were destroyed in the fire — the third such incident in recent months in the same labour camp.
“Eight fire brigades from the Al Quoz, Satwa and Karama fire stations rushed to the spot immediately after our officials were alerted of the fire that had erupted at about 11.25am yesterday. Our first priority once we reached the spot was to prevent the fire from spreading to other caravans in the vicinity. It took us a few hours to bring the blaze under control and we are now probing the cause of the fire,” said a DCD official. Johnson, one of the eyewitnesses told Khaleej Times: “Thick black columns of smoke spiralled upwards as the blaze began to spread and leapt suddenly from one caravan to another. It was the scariest sight I have ever seen.”
Meanwhile, an official from the contracting company assured that all the ‘displaced’ workers will be shifted to other labour camps in Sharjah and Dubai. “We will also provide clothes and bedding to all those workers who have lost all their belongings.”
KHALEEJ TIMES
‘Black Tuesday’ hits labour camp
DUBAI — AUG 08: It was a ‘Black Tuesday’ for the over 1,000 workers who lost all their hard-earned valuables and belongings in a massive blaze that engulfed their caravan-housing in a labour camp, turning it all into smouldering grey heap of ash within hours yesterday morning.
Mohammed Ali, one of the shocked labourers, said “I was at work when the fire erupted. By the time I rushed back to the camp, I was stunned by what I saw. All my belongings had been gutted. I was planning to return home soon for my sister’s wedding and I had purchased some gold and a wedding dress for her last week. Now I have lost it all.”
Raj Belle, another worker who lost all his belongings, said “I don’t even have another pair of clothes to change into. I just do not know how to react to this disaster. I do not even know where we will rest or sleep tonight. I hope our company considers giving us some compensation for this unimaginable loss that we have suffered. Many of us, in fact, have lost everything.”
All the 10 caravans gutted in the blaze, he said, comprised seventeen portacabins with eight workers housed in each.
Ranjit Lal, another worker, said “Compared to the previous two fire incidents, this was decidedly the worst in terms of the damages and loss suffered by the sorkers. We were just fortunate we were at work when the fire erupted. Imagine what a catastrophe it would have been otherwise!”
KHALEEJ TIMES
Worker on leave cannot be declared ‘absconder’
ABU DHABI — AUG 08: No company can declare a worker an ‘absconder’ if the latter has proceeded on sanctioned leave or is travelling out of the UAE on official assignment. If any company does so, it will risk being fined by the Ministry of Labour (MoL), according to Assistant Under-secretary in the MoL Obaid Rashid Al Zahmi.
The official said the ministry has rejected many ‘absconding’ reports filed by the companies against their employees.
He pointed out that in some cases it was discovered that sponsors had granted annual leave to the employees, but after they left the country their sponsors file ‘absconding’ reports with the MoL.
“We call on all workers to come to MoL and inform us directly if they have been reported missing or absconding while on annual leave,” said Al Zahmi.
There is a labour law provision that protects employees in such cases by giving them the right to obtain a copy of their annual leave or an official letter when travelling on work-related business. In such cases the employees’ rights are protected, as the sponsor cannot file an ‘absconding’ report, Al Zahmi pointed out.
“Any employee going on annual leave must obtain a copy of the annual leave approval from the company’s administration department. That is a proof that the worker is on authorised leave. That document also protects all the financial claims of the employee,” added Al Zahmi.
The document should mention the number of days for which leave has been granted, leave balance, if any, and the date of resumption of duty. In case the employer refuses to give the employee the copy of annual leave, the sponsor or the company risks a fine of up to Dh10,000, besides other penalties, he said.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Sharjah action to curb water wastage
SHARJAH — AUG 08: The Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa) and the Sharjah Municipality will conduct a joint inspection campaign next week in order to curb water wastage in residential, commercial and industrial areas in the emirate.
Sewa and the municipality inspectors will impose a fine of Dh150 on those found wasting water. The fine will be doubled in the event of repeat violation, followed by closure of business for the third violation.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Hamid Tahir Al Haj, head of Customer Services in Sewa, said the authority had decided to implement the rule as part of its efforts to ensure water conservation in the emirate.
To be launched officially from the beginning of next week, the water and energy conservation campaign is aimed at promoting sustainable use of water and energy in the emirate. Through the campaign, Sewa intends to change the attitude of residents towards water consumption.
Al Haj urged villa and house owners to immediately call Sewa’s nearest office in case water leakage is detected. Water leakage is one of the main factors of water wastage.
“Water in the emirate comes from desalination plants which are extremely expensive and only a few countries can afford them. As such water is a valuable resource but it is easily wasted by the public in the emirate,” he added.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Over 92 per cent people trust Abu Dhabi Police’
ABU DHABI — AUG 08: More than 92 per cent of the people living in Abu Dhabi repose full faith and trust in the efficiency and integrity of the Abu Dhabi Police, a recent survey reveals.
The latest survey, conducted among the capital’s residents by Abu Dhabi Police, shows that compared to last year’s findings, 19 per cent more people are happy with the police.
The survey was conducted between May 7 and June 7, 2007, in cooperation with the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research and Study Centre of the Abu Dhabi Police.
According to the survey findings, 86.2 per cent of the people were happy with dealings of police, 67.8 per cent were happy about enhanced services offered by the police, 66.4 per cent were positive about the police attitude towards the public while 90 per cent of those surveyed were happy with the availability of the police in their vicinity.
Around 1,200 respondents answered questions related to security and safety measures in the city. The survey covered UAE nationals as well as the expatriates living in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Brigadier Nasser Al Naoumi, director general of the office of the Minister of Interior stated: “The result of the survey shows that the strategic initiatives implemented under the directives of Lt.Gen. Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Minister of Interior, has fetched good results.
“The police have taken lot of initiatives to serve the public, in close cooperation with the people and will keep on enhancing the number of services and further improving its quality of service to further enhance public faith in it,” said Al Naoumi.
KHALEEJ TIMES
INDIAN SLASHES BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE
DUBAI - AUG 08: Indian, the country’s national airline, yesterday slashed its baggage allowances. The economy class limit was reduced from 40kg to 30kg, while in business class it was reduced from 50kg to 40kg. The airline said the cuts had been introduced because of heavy overloading that had forced it to off-load passengers.
A travel agent said: “The reduction in baggage allowances will hit not only amnesty passengers but also families travelling to India. All other airlines allow 40kg, but Indian is now permitting only 30kg.
“The announcement came after families and amnesty passengers had done their shopping. The airline charges Dh35 per kg for extra luggage. So this could mean an additional charge of Dh350 per passenger.”
EMIRATES TODAY
Six weeks later this couple are still waiting for their baggage
SHARJAH - AUG 08: A couple living in Sharjah are still waiting for their luggage to turn up six weeks after it went missing at a UK airport. Heleen Sadones, 24, and her husband Michael Vandenelsken, 26, flew on British Airways to their native Belgium for a three-week holiday via London Heathrow on June 22. But when they arrived in Brussels they discovered some of their luggage had been left at Heathrow.
They complained to the airline and the following day Sadones’ luggage was returned to her. But Vandenelsken, who runs a horse farm, has yet to be reunited with his suitcase.
The couple have spent hours phoning and e-mailing BA to try to locate the missing case that contains horse riding equipment worth more than Dh5,000, but have been dismayed by the response.
“After nearly two months there is a bad feeling that they don’t want to deal with our inquiries,” said Sadones. “We have been calling constantly and even got a call to say the bag had turned up in Milan. Now we are calling London, Milan and Dubai with no results.” Last month BA said it was struggling to cope with extra security demands placed on its staff, with a record 23,000 bags being handled at Heathrow’s Terminal Four every day. The pile-up of luggage has become so acute, with 16,000 bags going missing this summer, that the airline has begun to ship luggage to Milan Malpensa airport for distribution – causing massive delays before the bags reach passengers.
Sadones said she had tried to track the suitcase on the ‘baggage tracer’ system on BA’s website. But she said it was not updated. One member of British Airways staff allegedly told Sadones over the phone: “We have 16,000 lost bags, you will have to wait.” A BA spokesman said: “We, of course, aim to repatriate people’s bags as soon as possible and apologise to our passengers for any delay. It is extremely rare for baggage to be lost completely and these occurrences account for only 0.01 per cent of the total baggage carried by BA.
“We are doing all that we can to get Vandenelsken’s baggage. We are now investigating Sadones and Vandenelsken’s complaints and will be in touch once we have additional information. We will reimburse passengers for essential items they have had to purchase while their baggage has been delayed.”
EMIRATES TODAY
Sharjah - Missing man’s family visit Consulate
Sharjah - Aug 08: The father of a man who has been missing for the past five days has sought help from the Indian Consulate for help in gathering any information on his son whereabouts.
7DAYS reported yesterday that Naveen Vishwanathan has not been seen since visiting a friend’s house in Sharjah on Thursday night, and his family are now growing increasingly worried about his safety. “The father informed the Indian Consulate about the developments and also expressed his fears about what may have happened,” a family source said.
Meanwhile, the family also visited hospitals in a desperate attempt to track him. Naveen’s wife and two-year-old daughter are still inconsolable as there have, so far, been no clues as to what happened.
SEVEN DAYS
Dubai - Metro movement
Dubai - Aug 08: Ownership of the sites around new Metro stations has been moved from the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to the new Dubai Real Estate Agency, according to a report on Bloomberg yesterday.
The news service reported that the RTA had earlier planned to invite international developers to bid for the sites around Dubai's main subway stations this autumn as a way of raising funds to pay for the Dhs15.5 billion Dubai Metro project.
“Now responsibility for this has been transferred from the RTA to the new Dubai Real Estate Agency,” Marwan bin Ghulaitta, chief executive officer of the Dubai Real Estate Regulatory Authority, was quoted as saying to Bloomberg. The Dubai Metro will be the largest driverless transport system in the world, extending almost 70 kilometres through 42 stations.
It is one of several transport projects aimed at reducing mounting traffic congestion as the city's economy booms. Jones Lang LaSalle, the second-largest publicly traded commercial real estate broker, was hired by the RTA last year to advise on the sale and development of the sites. “It's fair to say things are on hold for the time being,” said Blair Hagkull, Jones Lang LaSalle Regional Managing Director.
The RTA had aimed to attract international real estate groups to bid for the hunndreds of hectares of prime Dubai property located around the largest of the planned metro stations currently under construction.
SEVEN DAYS