NEWS FROM THE UAE
Excerpts from UAE Dailies

Firms uneasy over MoL ban on hiring of visitors

ABU DHABI — SEP. 22:The Ministry of Labour’s (MoL) recent decision to impose penalties on companies that hire people who are on visit visas has left both firms and such workers in a quandary. (As per the decision, visitors who are found working will also be punished — with a life ban.)

Sponsors and companies feel the move will have diverse effects on the labour market. Many people who are working in the UAE despite being on visit visas fear that they would be thrown out by their employers and would then face at least a one-year ban, if not a life ban.

Pakistan national Tahseen says, “I came on a visit visa to find a job. However, everything has gone awry with this decision.”

Another worker says the move might protect the workers’ rights because many firms bring workers on visit visas and delay their wages and financial dues such as the overtime and end-of-services benefits.

“The stiff penalties will force the companies to bring workers either on temporary work permits or employment visas,” he says.

Whose fault is it?

Some people say sponsors and “visa dealers” are at fault for the high number of illegal workers in the UAE.

Mohammad Kamal, a Lebanese PRO of a leading contracting company, says: “The MoL steps are very important. The labour market in the country really needs these control measures. We have seen 278,715 illegals benefiting from the 2007 amnesty period.

“I am sure that about 90 per cent of these people were rendered illegals by companies and sponsors. They always bring workers on visit visas and put them on a probation period. If the worker is not up to the mark or is unqualified, the company leaves him to his fate — i.e. he stays on as an illegal,” said Kamal.

Then the visa dealers step in. They “offer” the hapless workers visit visas for up to Dh15,000 each. The visitors would have become labourers by the time.

Firms’ demand
Many sponsors and companies are preparing for disruption in their works as they will have to terminate the services of visitors on the payrolls.

Ahmed bin Al Ali, chairman of Bin Al Ali Group based in the capital, says the authorities must bring in a more balanced law streamlining the labour market.

“In our case, we mostly bring carpenters. Bringing them on regular employment visas after spending a lot of money is risky. What if we find them not qualified at all?

“We would have shelled out almost Dh10,000 in fees by that time, including Dh3,000 for labour card, Dh3,000 as bank guarantee, Dh1,950 for health insurance and medical check-up and Dh500 as leave allowance in addition to the Dh1,500 as employment visa fee.”.

A costly affair
If a company were to bring in 100 workers on visit visas, it will cost only  Dh10,000. On the other hand, the cost of employment visas for the same number of workers will be Dh150,000 for a company in ‘A’ category (according to the MoL’s classification), Dh 250,000 for a ‘B’ category firm and Dh350,000 for a ‘C’ category employer.

Mohammad Jabr, chief accountant with a company, says: “To bring a worker on employment visa, the firm will have to pay triple the cost of a visit visa. The company will also have to meet all other costs like air tickets and fees for labour cards, medical check-ups etc.”

Most of the small companies like cafés and restaurants prefer to recruit workers on visit visa to avoid these fees.

KHALEEJ TIMES

Parents sweat for admissions

DUBAI — SEP. 22: As the new term begins in some curricula, parents are finding it hard to secure admissions for their wards in nursery and primary schools as most of them are completely full and are unable to meet the growing demand.

Parent Ananya Sharma (name changed) had to struggle for a few months to put her two-and-a-half-year-old son in a play school, albeit in an afternoon school.

“One of the nurseries which had promised me admission earlier suddenly closed down. I started combing the town for nurseries and everybody’s answer was that they were completely full. I couldn’t keep my son at home endlessly and finally found one in Jebel Ali,” she said.

“However, they were able to accommodate him only in the afternoon shift. He is extremely energetic and enthusiastic in the mornings, but we are forced to change his entire schedule,” adds Ananya.

Waiting lists

“Some of them have waiting lists for a year or even two,” says another parent, Pauline Adams (name changed). “It is extremely difficult to find the right one and even if you do, you have to be lucky if they can take your kid in,” she adds.

Shehla Bridle, principal of the Jebel Ali Nursery who has been flooded with requests to take in new kids, says she is aware of the situation. “A nursery is an emotional decision for parents. Apart from the quality, they also prefer schools that are close to home. We have the capacity to take in only about 150 children.”

She says they are flooded with applications. At the beginning of the new term, they have about ten walk-in parents everyday. “We do not have a large premise and cannot admit too many kids. However, we are planning to open a new nursery to cope with the influx,” she says. The nursery recently opened a small play group in Meadows as they didn’t want to turn away disappointed parents.

Parents are faced with similar situations even in primary schools and many consider themselves lucky to have even got their children admitted in a school. “It took me nearly three months to find a school for my two kids. All the international schools were full and I would find space for one child and not the other. Finally I was lucky to get them admitted in the Dubai British School,” says mother Debbie Stacey.

More batches

The Greenfield Community School, a new community-based school which opens tomorrow, had to increase the batches of primary classes after being inundated with applications. “We were planning to open with just batch each in our primary grades. But there was so much demand that we had to open two batches each in Grade I and Grade III,” says principal Lesley P. Stagg.

The two branches of Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS) are “heavily oversubscribed” this year, according to director Robert Stokoe.

Parents say the solution lies in opening more primary schools and nurseries to cater to the demand. Though several new schools have opened this year in the emirate, parents feel more community-based schools are needed. “There needs to be more foundation schools, especially in the British curriculum. Also, community-based schools should be encouraged to set up branches as there is a lot of expat population staying in these areas,” observes Stacey.

Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) officials said they are looking into the issue.

KHALEEJ TIMES

Plan Abu Dhabi 2030 to develop overall labour housing policies
(Wam)

ABU DHABI — SEP. 22: Showing its proper policy care of expatriate worker housing, the Plan Abu Dhabi 2030, which was launched on Wednesday, will develop comprehensive policies for the location and size of expatriate worker accommodation taking into account workers’ and employers’ needs, and immediate and long-term economic trends in the service, construction and manufacturing industries.

Plan Abu Dhabi 2030: Urban Structure Framework Plan, a comprehensive plan for the development of the city of Abu Dhabi, will guide planning decisions for the next quarter of a century.

In its Labour and Human Resource policy, the Government of Abu Dhabi has outlined the development of dedicated low-cost worker residences that meet or exceed international benchmarks for worker accommodation, including living and communal space, leisure facilities, hygiene and safety.

The Government’s expatriate worker housing policy, when applied to this Urban Structure Framework Plan, produces the following guidelines:

Where possible, locate housing for permanent service workers (e.g. hotel, retail, business) close to where they work; avoid housing a large number of temporary or permanent construction and manufacturing workers in a limited number of settlements by establishing a maximum worker settlement population of 10,000 people; and where possible, locate temporary construction worker housing on, or near, large construction sites with appropriate services and facilities.

The Plan will also provide small localised nodes of permanent worker housing on, or near, industrial and manufacturing sites with appropriate services and facilities and with access to larger service areas and transportation, in intensive job-generating areas, or to accommodate workers from remote construction sites or service industries. Spanning in the time zone from 2007 up to 2030, the Plan will develop worker settlements of up to a generally preferred maximum of 5,000 people with a local service centre with religious, health, recreational and entertainment facilities.

“If larger worker settlements are developed, they should be located close to long-term job sites or on transportation routes and provide a full range of services and amenities (places of worship, health care, shops, entertainment, recreational facilities and emergency services),” the Plan stresses.

KHALEEJ TIMES

Sharjah teacher thrashes student

SHARJAH - SEP. 22: In a second incident of its kind in recent times, a student was allegedly beaten up by a school principal in Sharjah. The boy was dragged by his neck and was severely beaten up as students and teachers watched silently. The boy was studying in one of the popular Arabic Schools in Sharjah.

Sheve Rustan, an English teacher who was to join the school on the same day when this incident took place resigned after witnessing the incident. She vowed never return to the school.

An 'agonised and shocked' Rustan said such things should never happen to other pupils. "It's sad to see a school principal behaving like an animal and beating up a student mercilessly," said the teacher who was waiting outside the principal's room when the incident happened.

"The school principal turned violent and was bumping the boy's head against the grill. The man was shouting at the boy and was poking him with the trolley of the school bag. It's shocking that no one came to his rescue as he was being hit heartlessly," she said.

"I tried in vain to talk to the boy to find about his parents and complain to the police. The boy was barely able to stand and speak after the assault. His face was swollen and was crying incessantly," said Rustan urging the parents and teaching community to immediately report such incidents to the police and demand action against the culprits.

"There is an ardent need to put a full stop to such things which may create an impact on the psychological condition of the students who may resort to violence later in their lives," she said.

On the other hand, the school principal when contacted was not apologetic about his actions. He said that he has every right to beat up the student to discipline him. "He is my daughter's son. He was doing some mistakes which need to be corrected. I have done nothing wrong by beating him," said the principal defending himself.

This is the second such incident in Sharjah in the last ten days. On Sept.12 Hamdan Jassim al Shamsi, a grade VI student of Iqraa International School in Sharjah was beaten by his teacher and as a result caused a ligament tear in his left leg.

Sharjah Police arrested the teacher - a Tunisian national but later released him after the boy's father withdrew the complaint as a goodwill gesture during the holy month of Ramadan. Both the incidents have been referred to authorities at the Sharjah Education Zone, who have promised to look into the issue.
 
 
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