NEWS FROM THE U.A.E.
Excerpts from UAE Dailies

Indian expats welcome plan for welfare fund
 

Dubai: 13 January 2006: The plan to establish an Overseas Indian Welfare Fund to help protect interests of workers abroad has been welcomed by Indian expatriates in the UAE.

The announcement was made by Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at the recently-concluded Bharatiya Pravasi Divas held in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad.

The announcement could not have come at a more appropriate time when there has been an increase in the number of suicide cases, stranded labourers, destitutes, and those seeking financial assistance to undergo prolonged medical treatment, as well as problem of repatriation of bodies.

Once established, the fund will be handed over to all Indian diplomatic missions to help migrant workers, the Prime Minister had said.

Currently the associations are able to render financial assistance with the help of community members.

"The government has come up with an excellent proposal of setting up an Overseas Welfare Fund. We need the funds too, quite often," said K Kumar, convenor of the Indian Community Welfare Committee (ICWC), which was set up in 2000 under the patronage of the Indian consulate in Dubai.

It meets each month to discuss and process applications seeking financial assistance. The money is generally raised with the help of philanthropists.

"Once the fund is set up we can obviously handle more cases. We do not have to burden the community too frequently. Our efforts could be more galvanised. Probably we can lend more financial assistance to those in need. Over the last year we have witnessed a sudden increase in people who require medical treatment," said Kumar.

K. V. Shamshuddin, chairman of the Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, said the Indian missions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been doing all they can through the various Indian associations to assist the community at the time of crisis.

"We should not forget the pressure under which the Indian missions in the UAE are working. It is about time the government of India set up a welfare fund."

Suggestion to use unused government cash

The work to set up a fund to help overseas Indians could be speeded up if the government transfers a large amount of money that is lying unused, said K. V. Shamshuddin, chairman of the Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust.

"The money was collected by the protector of immigrants by people who were leaving the country to work overseas. The aim of collecting the money was to utilise it at the time of repatriation during emergency. But so far that money has not been brought into use. Why not transfer that money equally to all the Indian diplomatic missions overseas," said Shamsuddin.

M. K. Madhavan, President of the Sharjah Indian Association, said there is more than Rs5 billion (around Dh400 million) lying with the central government of India. "What are they going to do with that money?

 It was collected so that it could be used for the welfare of the overseas immigrant. The protector of immigrants in India is yet to decide on the manner in which the funds can be brought into use. Why not transfer the entire amount as Overseas Welfare Fund?"

Gulf News

 
Workers move consulate over unpaid wages
 

Dubai: 13 January 2006:Indian expatriates yesterday filed a complaint with the Indian Consulate in Dubai against their employer for non-payment of salaries.

This is the second such incident where the workers have approached the consulate to help them get their pending wages.

A senor consulate official told Gulf News that the owner of the Dubai-based company has been asked to come to the consulate to discuss the matter.

The matter of non-payment of salaries to workers by this particular company came into focus on December 3, 2005, when the workers approached the consulate. The owner in a discussion with the consulate officials had assured them that he would clear the pending wages of all his workers within a week.

Moreover, the cheques issued to the labourers by the company were not getting cleared due to lack of funds in the company's account.

Fifteen workers yesterday approached the consulate, which assured them that their problems would once again be discussed with the company owner.

A couple of workers who spoke to Gulf News said they have been subjected to living in inhuman conditions without any food and proper drinking water.

"The cheques issued to us by the owner were not cleared. We informed our management which asked us to wait for some time and then submit the cheques to the bank again. So we did not go to the consulate then," said a worker who went to the consulate yesterday.

"We cannot go on like this with no food and water. It is not our problem if the company does not have enough funds. We have worked and we should get paid," said another worker.

Yash Sinha, Indian Consul-General, said the Indian Community Welfare Committee (ICWC) will provide the workers with food.

"The consulate on its own had on December 3 taken up the case of non-payment of salaries to workers. We had then called the owner of the company and held discussions to sort out the problem. He had given us an assurance that he will clear the pending wages of all the workers within a week's time. But since then neither the workers nor the owner of the company got in touch with us on this issue," he said.

"I asked the workers why they had waited so long to come to the consulate when they were unable to encash the cheques issued to them by the owner."

The Consul-General said that the company owner is very much in the country and has not absconded. "We have got in touch with him and once we discuss the issue with him we will be able to find out why he had delayed payment," said Sinha.

He added that the previous labour consul K. Venugopal, who had been handling the case, had retired after handing over the case to the new labour consul.

K. Kumar, convenor of ICWC, said rations have been provided to the workers. "They do not stay at a single place. They do their own cooking and so we arranged for the groceries for them," he said.

Gulf News

 
Employees working on holidays must be 'adequately compensated'
 

Dubai: 13 January 2006:They stand at the cashiers returning change when the rest of the country buys holiday snacks, tanks up on petrol for long trips away, and generally enjoys itself.

Most workers in Dubai's service industries work right through holiday periods like the current three-day break for Eid, with businesses eyeing precious days off as a boom time to make money, not rest at home.

Others are simply ordered to remain at their desk jobs, perhaps processing a backlog of work, returning correspondence or filing.

Statistics were not available regarding how many complaints are given to the Ministry of Labour regarding forced work on official holidays.

But from the letters Gulf News receives during every holiday, it appears that many Dubai-based businesses are turning a blind eye towards allowing their workers to take holidays official holidays, demanded by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

They include a blue-collar worker who only listed his name as "concerned" as he wrote to Gulf News.

"The company has forced us to report to work on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday," he reported.

The Ministry's assistant secretary for labour, Humaid Bin Deemas, said if bosses turn a blind eye to holidays, workers must speak up.

"Workers must be compensated for any official holiday they work. Workers should be asked, not forced to work on official holidays, if there is a pressing reason to do so. And they must be compensated appropriately."

Bin Deemas said workers forced, without any compensation, to work official holidays have every right to file a complaint at the ministry.

"The Labour Relations Department will look into the complaint, which is justified if one is forced to work on an official holiday, and will take appropriate action."

He said workers should not be scared of their employer's reaction if they file a complaint. "The UAE labour law does not allow employers to fire workers who make a complaint, and action will be taken against employers who do so."

Federal Law No 8 of 1980 says that workers are entitled to leave with full pay on several fixed days, including New Years and several Islamic celebration days. Most senior labour officials have said that workers can refuse to work on an official holiday, and should be compensated if they do work.

Lawyer Yousuf Ja'afar earlier told Gulf News workers had to be compensated if they were asked to work on official holidays by being given a day off and 50 per cent of their basic salary. If workers are not given a day off in lieu, they must be given 150 per cent of their basic salary.

Leave with full pay on national holidays

The UAE's labour law Federal Law No 8, 1980, says that every worker is entitled to leave with full pay on:

The Islamic New Year (one day)
The Western New Year (one day)
Eid Al Fitr, which follows Ramadan (two days)
Eid Al Adha (three days)
Prophet Mohammad's (PBUH) birthday (one day)
The Isra Wa'l Mi'raj (one day)
National Day (one day)

Gulf News
 
DSF cancellation mars hotel business

DUBAI — 13 January 2006:Several hotels in Dubai have noted a sharp decrease in occupancy levels for the month of January. They are directly attributing this to the postponement of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF).

A source at the Rimal Rotana claimed that they received a group cancellation immediately after the demise of Shaikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum. This was followed by further cancellations once the DSF was officially called off.

"Since DSF was cancelled, we have seen a marked decrease in the number of guests staying. We had greater than 90 per cent occupancy, but this fell initially to about 65 per cent, and is now at around 20 per cent. Even the Eid booking was affected as many reservations were cancelled," the source claimed. "Most of the hotels in Dubai have been affected," the source added.

Giad Abdul Salam, Reservation Manager of Sofitel, also claimed that the DSF situation had directly resulted in room reservations being cancelled. "Our occupancy has fallen to about 60 per cent," she said. "We should have had between 95 and 100 per cent occupancy, but rooms that were initially booked, are now being cancelled," she added.

Not all hotels have been affected, Mohammed Abdul Al Hafeez, Reservation Manger at Movenpick, said, adding that the occupancy was 90 per cent, This figure was similar to previous years. “The cancellation of DSF this year hasn't affected the business in the hotel,” he said.

However, the claims made by many hotels are contradicted by travel agents in the city. The majority of them have claimed not to have seen any irregular numbers in cancellations for tourists visiting the city for this time of year.

Numerous travel agents contacted by this reporter shared this view. The postponement of DSF has had no bearing on the number of visitors expected in the city this month. They also claimed to have experienced little change in the number of cancellations compared to previous years.

Of the travel agents contacted, only two said to have seen an increase in cancellations. Jhassan Aridi, CEO, Alpha Tours, said: “We saw some cancellations in the beginning, but it's getting better. I think people realise Dubai has a lot to offer, even without DSF.”

Christpher Dharmai, Tours Manager at Airlink International, said: "We've had a large number of cancellations for this time of year. People have decided not to come to Dubai because DSF has been postponed. We've had people cancelling from India, Europe and the Middle East."

Although Dharmai couldn't give an exact figure of cancellations he claimed that it was "a substantial amount." He also added, "the number of tourists visiting Dubai for DSF was a lot busier in previous years."

Khaleej Times

Breads on sale two days before production date!

ABU DHABI — 13 January 2006: An Indian family chanced upon a post-dated loaf of bread in a supermarket, raising concerns about the genuineness of the manufacturing dates placed on bakery products.

The loaf of bread that Shabeer M., an accountant with a private firm, bought on January 11 from the Millennium Supermarket on Airport Road had the manufacturing date as January 13. The expiry date on the product manufactured by Golden Spike Bakery was January 16.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Shabeer said that his family, including his one-and-a-half year old son, had the post-dated bread for breakfast, without realising the confusion in the date.

"It was by chance that my wife noticed the wrong date on the packet. Immediately, I sent my daughter to buy one more loaf from the same outlet, and that also carried the same dates," said Shabeer.

"I don't know whether it is just a mistake or an unscrupulous business tactic. I decided to bring the matter to the notice of the public because of the serious health hazards it can cause to other consumers. People would buy the bread until January 16 under the impression that it is still fresh, whereas the product would be almost a week old," remarked an annoyed Shabeer, who considered it mere luck that his family was spared of possible food-poisoning.

Responding to the allegation, the Golden Spike Bakery said it was just a printing mistake, and as soon as they were apprised of the same, the bakery had withdrawn the products from the bakery shelves.

"So far, we have not received any complaints. But we admit that it was an oversight. We are currently checking with other outlets where we supply our products, and all breads will be immediately replaced," said the official who underlined that Golden Spike is an ISO certified company where strict quality standards are maintained in all aspects of production and supply.

The official also noted that the company will shortly replace the present system of manually affixing the dates with a computerised method to rule out such discrepancies.

Ruling out the possibility of outlets tampering with the dates, most supermarkets told this scribe that the manufacturers take back the leftover stocks after the expiry date, and hence they don't incur any losses.

Khaleej Times

Police flood mobile users with SMS texts

ABU DHABI — 13 January 2006:Abu Dhabi Police have bombarded mobile users over the past few days with SMS messages including reminders about expiry of licences and new services introduced by the department.

The new e-service, recently launched by the department, has helped motorists in getting first-hand information about services provided by the different sections of the department and even made it easier to apply and obtain service on-line including payment of fees for new applications and renewals.

Tourists, too, can avail of the e-service for application and inquiry, with the Ports and Airports Security Police Department introduction of new round-the-clock immigration services for tourists and entry permit at the Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Messages sent by the department notify motorists about the expiry date of drivers' licences and vehicle registration, fines, and any other new rules related to the department's services.

"By introducing these services we aim at facilitating procedures for the public and save time and effort," says Col Ahmed Nasser Al Rayesi, Director-General of Central Operations at the General Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police.

He said Abu Dhabi police was widely concerned about the services related to the public.

He said one of these services is the drivers testing which had been launched through Abu Dhabi police Internet web site so that a user can access the site and through the link related to this service,  find out about the procedures, and finalise transactions very smoothly. These procedures, he added, are transformed into electronic procedures which the applicant can finalise his transaction quickly and easily.

He said the department also transforms the automatic answering service into a toll-free telephone.

"At a civilised turning point and within its endeavour to develop different services that it offers to the public in a style that guarantees the ease and rapidity of its achievement, Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters has lately transformed the paid automatic answering service into the toll-free telephone number (8003333)," reads the main page of the recently launched web site.

The list of services which can be applied and paid for on-line is drivers test, new applications and renewal of drivers licences, booking appointment for drivers test, renew trainee card, replace damaged and lost trainee card replacement, replacement of drivers licences, and exchange of license issued abroad.

Surfers can enquire about service fees and other required information. After accessing the web site, the user is guided by a multi-stage system through the procedures and advised on required documents and fees etc.

Khaleej Times

Shopkeepers may shut if GV doesn’t pick up

Dubai: 13 January 2006: Small shop owners at Global Village say they may be forced to pack up and leave if business doesn’t pick up this weekend. The traders said business has been severely affected by the cancellation of this year’s Shopping Festival.

“We’ve thought of packing up and leaving,” said the manager of a footwear stall. “We are just holding on to see how the sales will be over the weekend.”

Although Global Village has been open since October last year, many traders only operate their stalls during the Shopping Festival period.

Sales were sluggish over Eid, and many small shop owners said they were worried they will not recoup the dhs29,000 they paid for their stalls if it doesn’t pick up this weekend.

“We do this every year. Despite the expenses, the business is always good,” said one shopkeeper. “Since the DSF was called off, business is slow but we are hoping it picks up soon,” adding that if not they may be forced to go home early.

Some traders who came from overseas said they were not earning enough to pay for their accommodation at present, and may have to cut their losses. Global Village runs until March 3.

Seven Days