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

Change in rule for sponsorship transfer of maids hailed

Abu Dhabi: 19 January 2006:The lifting of the one-year entry ban on domestic workers and allowing them to temporarily transfer their sponsorship were praised by all quarters as a step in the right direction.

However, human rights activists, housemaids and recruitment agencies contacted by Gulf News called for more measures to protect the rights of domestic workers in the country.

Sharla Musabih, managing director of the City of Hope, a Dubai-based human rights organisation, said authorities should do more to protect the rights of domestics "who are vulnerable".

"Sponsors and recruitment agents must be held accountable for any abuses of domestic workers' rights."

On problems domestic workers face, Sharla said they are frequently vulnerable to physical (including sexual), psychological and verbal abuse.

"Domestic workers' average number of working hours per week ranges from 101 to 108 hours, which is very high by international standards. Most maids working in households in the UAE do not have a single day off in a given month.

"The fact that they have no day off or are simply locked up means they cannot seek help if they face any trouble. Domestic workers also face frequent irregularities in the recruitment system in sending countries and here. They are exploited by overcharging for costs of formalities.

"They are frequently forced to sign side agreements not to have a phone and not to take a day off. There were also numerous cases of recruitment agents sexually abusing runaway domestic workers."

Magui, a Filipina maid, said housemaids in the UAE lack legal recourse. "The labour law does not cover us and we are not considered employees. The employment relationship between a domestic worker and the head of a household is not addressed in the labour law, denying them the status of real workers, entitled to protection. This situation should change," she said.

There are an estimated 450,000 families in the UAE and it is estimated that about 150,000 UAE national families employ about 300,000 domestic workers, while half of the estimated 300,000 expatriate families also have domestic help.

Ashraf Yousuf, manager of an Abu Dhabi recruitment agency, welcomed the move as good news for domestic workers.

"Lifting the ban will give housemaids a chance to work and earn their living. Many maids want to work but the automatic one-year ban stops them," he said.

Mahmoud Saeed, a resident who has been sponsoring a housemaid for six years, said this step would help in reducing the increasing number of absconding housemaids.

"Many families who did not want their housemaids to stay in the UAE and work for another family, misused the rule and abused the rights of their maids," he said.

"We have heard that certain families have been blacklisted and prevented from sponsoring foreign domestic workers because of past history of assault, abuse or non-payment of wages. However, many such families were able to get around the law by using the names of other family members to sponsor a new domestic worker."

Workers must complete their contract

The lifting of the one-year entry ban will cover all housemaids and domestic workers, who complete their job contract, according to a decision by the Ministry of Interior, effective from February 1.

"No one-year ban will be stamped on their passport when cancelling their visa. However, the ban will be stamped on the passport if the maid or domestic worker seeks cancellation of residency during the validity of the contract which, according to the rule, is for two years," Rashid Al Khedar, legal consultant of the General Directorate of Naturalisation and Residence at the Ministry of Interior, told Gulf News yesterday.

"These workers will be allowed to obtain an employment visa immediately following cancelling of their visa without ban. They will also be allowed to transfer sponsorship once for up to 90 days.

"The privilege will be granted only if the domestic help complete their job contract and give a notice of at least 30 days before the end of the contract. These two conditions can be scrapped if the original sponsor agrees to the transfer."

GULF NEWS

Ministry warning over expired visas

Dubai: 19 January 2006:The Labour Minister has warned companies which do not take advantage of the grace period to rectify their workers' status will have their transactions halted.

Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi said the measures will be taken once the grace period ends on February 28. He said the only exceptions will be in processing transactions "related to the grace period".

A meeting will be held in Abu Dhabi between staff at typing offices and labour officials to discuss the new grace period given for workers with expired labour permits.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs held a similar meeting in Dubai on Tuesday evening. Public relations officers also attended to learn more about emiratisation of the PRO sector.

The Labour Ministry has also printed booklets in Arabic explaining how workers can take advantage of the grace period to rectify their status.

There are an estimated 250,000 workers in the country with expired labour permits. The booklets will be translated into English, labour officials said, and posted online at www.mol.gov.ae

Labour officials are considering an Urdu translation as well.

GULF NEWS

Four suspects held after body is recovered

Ajman:19 January 2006:  Four suspects have been arrested following the recovery of a body of a man who was cut into pieces, put in a bag and buried in Ajman's old industrial area, a police source said.

The source told Gulf News the body was found buried in the sand behind Ajman's Used Car Market close to Ajman's Civil Defence office less than 500 metres from Ajman Police Headquarters.

Police said the place where the body was found belongs to an Ajman transportation company.

The bag containing the body was recovered on Monday at 2pm. The body was taken to Khalifa Hospital for a post mortem and then transferred to the police morgue, the source said.

The source said the body is yet to be identified. The victim's age or nationality have not been released.

Witnesses from the Used Car Market told Gulf News that police found the body buried behind one of the showrooms.

"A lot of police officials came here on Monday. They left the area at around 6pm," said one of the workers.

The police source said four Bangladeshi men had been arrested in connection with the incident. The source said a few days ago the relatives of a Sikh man informed police that he had been kidnapped by four Bangladeshis. They said the men had asked the family to pay Dh15,000 for his release.

The Bangladeshis, the relatives said, warned them not to inform the police.

The source said: "The family informed police, and when the kidnappers came to know of this move they killed the victim. They cut his body into pieces and disfigured his face so that no would be able to recognise him. The crime was committed a few days ago. The Bangladeshi men told investigators where the body was."

Officials at the Ajman Indian Association and Indian Consulate said they had not been informed by police about the crime.

Last year, a Sri Lankan woman was raped and killed by her building's watchman and a car wash boy. She was found in the same area where the man's body was discovered.

GULF NEWS

Gang-rape victim told her attackers she had Aids

Dubai: 19 January 2006: A woman who was allegedly gang-raped screamed to her attackers that she had Aids in an attempt to stop them from carrying out the attack.

The 23-year-old Briton was allegedly gang-raped by a group of young UAE nationals on September 9. The police arrested six men, identified as S.Z., A.Z., K.S., A.H., A.A. and J.Z.

In yesterday's hearing the judge heard more witness accounts of the incident.

The Briton, who works as a flight attendant, told police she was enjoying a night out with friends at a hotel in Jumeirah. After having one drink, and while waiting for a taxi, she was harassed several times by a 4x4 driver. She ignored him and kept looking for a taxi.

A driver whom she believed "to be decent" approached her and offered to drop her home on Shaikh Zayed Road.

The victim, who was new to the country, accepted his offer and jumped into the back seat.

In her statement to the police, she said she could not remember the number of men inside the car. She soon realised the men were driving towards the outskirts of the city. When she confronted them, she was told that they were going to a party.

When she asked to be driven home, they continued driving to an unknown destination. Three of them then undressed and assaulted her. When she realised she was going to be raped she claimed she had Aids, but that did not prevent them from raping her one at a time. Two more men later joined the others and allegedly gang-raped her in a remote desert area.

According to court records, the men dropped her off near Al Mulla Plaza after having threatened to kill her. The suspects deny they raped the woman and claim she agreed to have sexual intercourse with them.

Dubai Public Prosecution charged the first five suspects with luring the victim into their car and abducting her. S.Z., A.Z., K.S. and A.A. were also charged with rape, meanwhile, J.Z. was charged with sexually molesting her. All suspects were charged with threatening to kill the victim. K.S. was additionally charged with possessing liquor.

GULF NEWS

New-look seafront to open for visitors next month

Dubai: 19 January 2006:The Dh100-million first phase redevelopment of Jumeirah beach will be completed next month, Dubai Municipality said yesterday.

The project is the first in a series of development of public beaches, with plans to create more beach areas with improved accessibility, said Eisa Al Maidour, Assistant Director-General of Dubai Municipality for General Projects Affairs.

The next section of coastline to be addressed will be the stretch of coastline south of the open beach to create more beach areas with improved accessibility, he said.

"Subsequent phases will focus on enhancing the development of public amenities to provide for a balanced development for beach users, including tourists and regular users, beach sport enthusiasts and families."

The forthcoming initiatives will be announced soon, he said.

The first phase of the ongoing project involves extension of the existing rock structures and sand replenishment to provide a wider and more stable beach offering safer and enhanced facilities.

The subsequent Phase II development, due to commence in early 2006, involves the enhancement of beach amenity facilities through landscaping of the beachfront, he said.

Besides a corniche walkway throughout the development, other proposed amenities include covered changing rooms with locker facilities, a jogging track for the fitness conscious, interactive water and beach sports activities, amphitheatre for open air activities, food courts and restaurants, an informal beach market, a skate park of international standard, additional parking and improved landscaping.

Beach security will be also stepped up with dedicated facilities for police rescue and coastguard operations, and aesthetically appealing and functionally enhanced life guard towers.

"The proposed development is aimed at offering global best standards for beach-goers," said Al Maidour. He said considering improvements to existing marine structures, the coastal management section of the municipality and its consultant, Mouchel Parkman, have utilised modelling tools to predict the impact of waves and currents, and to explore the best means of mitigating such impacts.

A comprehensive field measurement campaign was also carried out along the Jumeirah coast. The data is supplemented with additional information collected as part of a coastal monitoring programme.

The objectives of the programme were to develop an understanding of the coastal processes along the Dubai coast.

Work is under way at the Jumeirah beach as part of a Dh100 million redevelopment project scheduled to be complete by February. The new beach has been designed keeping in mind its impact on the environment.

GULF NEWS

No extension in grace period for employing national PROs

DUBAI — 19 January 2006: No extension would be given in the grace period granted to companies to employ nationals as PROs in place of expatriates, stressed ministry officials at a meeting with company representatives at Dubai Police Officers' Club on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion, Humaid bin Dimas, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry for Labour Affairs, and Ahmad Kajoor, Assistant Undersecretary for Planning and Manpower Affairs, called on companies to rectify their status soon and not to leave it for the last day especially since there is no plan to extend the period for now.

Humad bin Dimas, however, clarified that the ministry would continue to accept transactions from expatriate PROs but only to handle those cases related to rectifying the company's employees' status during the grace period that ends on February 28.

Some company representatives had called on the ministry to extend the grace period in view of the unexpected 10 days of holidays.

Bin Dimas argued that the ministry had allowed the expat PROs to handle such transactions as this needed their expertise.

"We do not want to complicate things and want clear records of the companies at the ministry. Such task requires experienced PROs," he pointed out. "Before even considering extending the rectification grace period, we need to find out the seriousness of the issue from the companies," he noted.

Companies will benefit from the ministry's leniency in allowing them to process these transactions via their expatriate PROs and rectify their status as fast as possible, he said, adding that the booklet on the guidelines directory was made available on-line and at the typing offices as early as January 4.

"Companies still have a month and a half to finish rectifying their status," Bin Dimas pointed out.

"It is a grace period and we wish all employers to benefit from it," he said calling on companies to refrain from the habit of leaving illegalities unsettled until the last few days.

Call for regulations

Representatives of some companies called on the ministry to impose regulations for the employment of nationals as PROs since some nationals refrained from taking up the job after their employers had processed their papers and paid the fees for recruiting and issued them the necessary PRO card.

A company complained that it had employed a national for the post of PRO. But after paying the necessary fees, the national said that he will not take up the job. In such cases they called upon the ministry to impose regulations to maintain the welfare of the employers and prevent such incidents in the future.

Bin Dimas pointed out that the ministry did not have any strict regulations and is currently not even imposing the regulation that the national applicant should pass a training session. "The ministry aims to encourage nationals to take this post. After having nationals working in this post, the ministry will regulate their recruitment and leave it as it is. This is the preliminary phase," Bin Dimas explained.

However, he believed that all these problems will be eliminated once the ministry completes the process of making most of its transactions on-line. This means that the PROs' task will be simplified and they would not even have to approach the ministry. This should encourage nationals to take up this post, he added.

KHALEEJ TIMES

Foreigners in GCC to get UAE visa on spot
 

ABU DHABI — 18 January 2006: Foreigners having residence visa in any of the GCC countries can now enter the UAE without obtaining a visa prior to entry, according to a new ministerial decree issued by Lieutenant-General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Interior.

he decree, which amended seven articles of the Executive Regulation of the Federal Law No (6) of 1973 on entry and residence of foreigners, grants visit visas on the spot at any of the entry points of the country to foreigners residing in GCC countries or those who have a residence permit for not less than one year in any of the six states.

Categories who benefit from this facility include citizens of 35 countries. These are the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Germany, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Denmark, Andorra, Sweden, Switzerland, Vatican, France, Finland, Monaco, Norway, Austria, the Netherlands, Greece, Britain, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Malta, San Marino, Liechtenstein, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Citizens of other countries not included in the list, but have specialised in specific professions will also benefit from the new rule, and these include businessmen, company managers and representatives, accountants, auditors, doctors, engineers, lawyers, legal consultants and government employees except labourers categories. Families of these categories can also avail of the facility.

Other categories include drivers sponsored by citizens of the above-mentioned 35 countries and citizens of other countries, drivers, housemaids and others in their category accompanying GCC citizens, and truck drivers provided that the vehicle is registered in one of the GCC countries, carries goods from one of the member states and having an NOC from the sponsor.

Article 2 of the amended Executive Regulation allows housemaids and those in their categories to transfer their sponsorship temporarily for a maximum of three months.

Article 48 grants a transit visa at entry points to any transit foreigner who is travelling to another country but has to enter the country due to flight or trip reasons. The transit passenger has to have a valid travel document, ticket, and should leave within 96 hours from the date of issuance of the visa.

Article 63 stipulates that a residence permit will be automatically cancelled upon the expiry of labour relation. Housemaids and those in their category will not be issued a visit permit or entry visa before completing one year in case of cancelling their residence visa before expiry of their contract upon their request.

The decree also relaxed sponsorship transfer for housemaids and those in the category abolishing all earlier conditions provided that the consent of the sponsor is obtained.

Articles 96 and 106 concerning deported foreigners and those banned from entering the country allow several categories including housemaids, deported foreigners for violating article No 29 of the law, to re-enter the country after one year.

KHALEEJ TIMES

Woman battles for life after near fatal jump

Dubai: 19 January 2006: A woman is fighting for her life after she plunged three floors following a rooftop chase by police and a victim who she allegedly robbed, witnesses said.

Police confirmed the woman of Eastern European origin fell from a building but did not comment on whether police personnel chased her.

An African witness said an Asian had a fight with the woman. She allegedly took his money.

When he spotted her in front of the building, he grabbed her by the hair and tried to assault her. The woman managed to free herself and ran into the building where she has a flat, believed to be a den of prostitutes, claimed the witness.

The Asian called up police and when they appeared, "he went into the building with the police to show them the apartment".

The woman could have seen the police and the Asian coming and decided to go up to the roof, the witness said.

The police chased the woman who jumped to the roof of an adjacent building. Witnesses said they heard someone crying out for help as if hanging on to something, supposedly an air-conditioning unit.

"The screams for help continued for two or three minutes until it suddenly stopped," said a witness who requested anonymity.

An Asian witnesses said a paramedic team arrived at the scene where the woman fell three floors.

He said the police detained a woman who lives in the same building for questioning.

Dubai police told Gulf News that a woman fell from a building following a fight in Naif.

The source confirmed that the Eastern European woman was taken to hospital while investigations are continuing.

Sources at Rashid Hospital confirmed that the woman is in a critical situation and is currently in the intensive care unit. "She sustained severe head and neck injuries," said the source.

GULF NEWS