NEWS FROM THE UAE
SOURCE : THE NATIONAL
Metro throws open job gates
DUBAI - MAR 15: About a third of the jobs on the new Dubai Metro will go to Emiratis, according to a senior Project Director.
In total, 2,150 people will be needed to operate the the Red Line when it opens in September. Eight hundred positions have already been filled and a big recruitment drive is under way.
Serco, the operator of the system, wants 30 per cent of the jobs to go to nationals. Paul Anderson, project director, said: “We have a strong Emiratisation policy.”
Mr Anderson said Emiratis would fill managerial and supervisory roles and would be trained to the required skill levels.
Serco has set up a website, www.joindubaimetro.com solely for recruiting purposes and will attend this year’s Careers UAE job fair at the end of the month.
“There are already a lot of consultancy firms looking for people all over the world, chiefly India and the Philippines,” said Peyman Younes Parham, director of the Roads and Transport Authority’s marketing and corporate communications department.
The 30 per cent Emiratisation requirement is high compared with the targets set for companies in several other sectors. The insurance industry had a 15 per cent requirement in 2007-08, with an additional four per cent required each year. So far, however, Emiratis make up only seven per cent of the workforce.
The banking sector’s quota was set at four per cent in 1997-98, with the stipulation that it should increase by four per cent a year, giving the industry a requirement of 44 per cent of its staff to be Emirati this year.
Serco has hired specialists who have trained staff for the Hong Kong metro, and the newest recruits have begun their training.
“The majority are already in the classrooms. In two months’ time, they will receive hands-on training at the stations,” added Mr Parham.
There are five different training programmes, including a graduate engineer programme and apprentice schemes for school-leavers.
“In the operations management course we train for future leaders in the appropriate departments like operation supervisors and stationmasters,” said Mr Anderson.
Three of the eight directors at Serco were Emiratis, he added. “The remaining five are expatriates who are railway experts or specialists.”
Security supervisors had been recruited locally. “They come from the police or other areas of security,” he said.
On its website Serco has also posted 49 positions, ranging from a performance analyst to a cleaner, and including a track technician, a finance assistant, a graphic designer and a car park duty manager.
The Dubai Metro, which is intended to relieve the traffic burden on the city’s roads, requires job applicants to have good communication skills, including both spoken and written English.
It is mandatory for all applicants to meet standards for the role applied for and complete a medical. Visual and hearing tests will be conducted on the candidates, who will have to show they can make quick decisions, concentrate despite distractions and pay attention to detail.
The eagerly awaited Dh15.5 billion (US$4.2bn) driverless railway is on target for September 9, but questions have been raised over the opening of some of the stations because planned residential and commercial developments nearby will not be completed on time.
However, the project has met several deadlines, including the completion of the Red Line’s viaduct three days early.
The 52km viaduct, which stretches the length of Sheikh Zayed Road between Al Rashidiya and Jebel Ali, is expected to carry an estimated 27,000 passengers an hour in each direction on 42 trains, stopping at Burj Dubai, Internet City and Jebel Ali among other places.
Call for diabetes checks on truckers
ABU DHABI - MAR 15: A doctor has called for lorry drivers to face roadside tests for diabetes.
Dr Sean Petherbridge, a specialist in family medicine at the Infinity Clinic in Dubai, said he would like to see a national roadside screening programme to test drivers’ blood sugar levels.
He said insulin-affected diabetics were at risk of falling into a coma if their blood sugar levels were not properly maintained.
“Too high blood sugar leads to drowsiness and dehydration leading to poor concentration,” he said. “There is also a risk of coma when the diabetes is uncontrolled.”
Dr Petherbridge said the best medicines for managing blood sugar levels cost a large proportion of a driver’s salary and that taking insulin was “not compatible with driving a heavy goods vehicle”.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) India has the largest population of diabetics, followed by China, the US and Indonesia. In 2000, India had 31.7 million diabetics, a figure expected to rise to 80 million by 2030.
Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes can be treated with insulin, which regulates the sugar in the bloodstream.
Dr Petherbridge said there was a genetic component for Indians and Pakistanis, as there is with Emiratis, but “there are also dietary habits that are hard to break”.
One truck driver, Habib Shah, 57, suspected he had diabetes when he was unable to stop his hands and feet from shaking. He had heard of similar symptoms from his fellow drivers and booked a Dh20 blood test. The test confirmed diabetes, commonly referred to as “sugar” in his native Pakistan.
“I did not want to hear it because I always thought I was healthy, but I found out that I had sugar,” he said. Mr Shah’s doctor asked him to return weekly for monitoring.
“My wild days are behind me now,” he said. “I have to maintain a routine. I’ve started with cutting down on sugar in my tea and on eating sweets.”
Another driver, Gul Mohammed, 54, was diagnosed with diabetes shortly after he moved to the UAE in 1977. Doctors in Pakistan advised him to take one pill a day, which he has done for more than three decades. He gets his tablets from Pakistan, where they are cheaper.
Mr Mohammed does not go for regular check-ups, which he saw as unnecessary since he was taking his pills. “Here it will cost you Dh20 per visit even with the insurance card so it adds up and can get expensive. I just do it every time I go home.”
As well as its effects on general health, diabetes is particularly dangerous for lorry drivers, who are often on the roads for long stretches.
“In Europe, a four-hour drive requires a mandatory 20-minute rest as measured by a tachometer,” said Dr Petherbridge. “Vehicles here are older and may be in poor repair. There may also be time pressures, for example sewage lorry drivers.”
If the blood sugar levels become too high, which can happen when not enough insulin has been taken, hyperglycaemia occurs. If left untreated it can eventually cause unconsciousness and even death.
If blood sugar is too low because there is too much insulin, hypoglycaemia can occur. This can leave the sufferer feeling shaky, weak and hungry. It can be treated by eating or drinking something sugary. If it is not treated, however, it can cause drowsiness, confusion and a loss of consciousness.
Diet is also crucial. Sufferers are advised to eat a consistent diet of a variety of foods. Consistency matters because the body responds to increased calories and fat by increasing the blood sugar.
Some of the larger companies in the UAE do make efforts to ensure their employees are fit to drive. The Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) introduced mandatory pre-employment health checks for drivers more than two years ago, with repeat check-ups every two years.
Dr Mark Newson-Smith, the company’s chief medical officer, said if a health condition was detected that could affect driving, more frequent checks would be carried out to make sure the illness was well controlled.
He added that Enoc had a blanket policy of not allowing drivers with diabetes behind the wheel. It was introduced “because of the understanding of the potential impact of ill health on the fitness to drive and safe operation of these vehicles,” he said, “and the consequences of an accident involving these large vehicles carrying hazardous loads.”
Enoc’s tests are based on standards set by the US department of transportation, which are tougher than those in the UK or Australia.
Without a testing regime, drivers can be reluctant to disclose their diabetes for fear of losing their jobs. However, some firms still leave employees to judge their own health.
Tom Thomasne truck driver, , general manager at ADSO, a freight and transport company, said it was not always possible for diabetic drivers to control their disease.
“Drivers do not have a routine timetable for taking their food,” he said. “People who have diabetes, they have to have a routine timetable to their daily diet. This is not possible for the drivers.”
He said that while they did offer free health checks, it was up to the drivers to attend the sessions.
He said a lot of the lorry drivers did not eat breakfast or take regular stops on the roads, so they could maximise their earnings. “Sometimes they are ready to work all the time,” he said. “Even though they are working in the daytime they are willing to work in the evening because they will get double salary.”
There is no law that prevents diabetics from driving lorries, and the condition is not included in the driving licence blood tests. A spokesman for the traffic police said officers did not look for signs of diabetes when they stopped drivers for violations. He added that there had been no cases in which a driver found unconscious after an accident was believed to have blacked out before the crash.
Drive to cut road deaths by 40 per cent
DUBAI - MAR 16: A campaign began yesterday to cut the number of road deaths by nearly half over the next six years.
Last year, 293 people died on Dubai’s roads. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) wants to see that to fall by 40 per cent by 2015.
Its Take Care initiative coincides with the 25th Unified GCC Traffic Week. The main theme of the week will be the dangers of using mobile phones while driving, which the RTA said was one of the main causes of accidents.
“It disorientates the mindset and hearing of the driver, rendering him or her inattentive to all surrounding events,” said Hussain al Banna, the director of the traffic department at the Traffic and Roads Agency.
The campaign, with the slogan “Don’t Call Till You Arrive”, will include adverts in newspapers and on bridges, tunnels and bus shelters. Radio adverts will be broadcast in several languages.
According to the World Health Organisation, the risk of traffic accidents is three to four times higher when mobile phones – either hand-held devices or with a hands-free kit – are used while driving.
Mr al Banna said research had found that a driver’s concentration falls significantly while using a mobile phone.
He said the campaign would seek “to educate motorists on the importance of implementing basic driving principles and attitudes related to traffic safety to preserve lives and properties”.
The campaign will also feature messages about the importance of wearing seat belts and observing speed limits. The hazards of driving while tired will also be highlighted.
Drivers who jump red lights, fail to use indicators or tailgate other vehicles will be also targeted.
“We are not going to use aggressive messages,” Mr Parham said. “We are going to submit soft messages to build a relationship with the public and get them on our side.”
The RTA is using radio advertisements in five languages, including Arabic and English. “It is the first time we have made advertisements in South Indian, Persian and Filipino,” Mr Parham said.
Greg Jones, an engineer, said he hoped the campaign would have a positive effect on Dubai’s road users.
“There is nothing worse than driving and somebody is less than a foot behind you at high speeds and trying to send a text message at the same time,” he said.
“It is terrifying and I hope this campaign will have some form of an effect on that.”
Pauline Richards, a media executive, said the campaign was much needed. “A lot of the road signs are in English and I know lots of drivers would not have a good grasp of the English language,” she said.
“It is a good start to broadcast advertisements in other languages.”
Code aims to clarify laws on decency and public behaviour
DUBAI - MAR 16: A set of rules clarifying what constitutes inappropriate behaviour in public has been issued by the Dubai government.
Nudity, kissing, dancing, holding hands and playing loud music have been included in guidelines over inappropriate behaviour, according to the Arabic daily newspaper, Al Emarat Al-Youm.
The rules have been sent to all government departments and private companies in Dubai emirate. It is not known if this is the first time such a code has been issued.
Being under the influence of alcohol outside designated areas is also prohibited according to the rules.
Any breach of the guidelines could result in imprisonment, the newspaper said.
Last July a British expatriate, Michelle Palmer, and a visiting Briton, Vince Acors, were arrested for being drunk and for engaging in sexual intercourse on a beach.
The arrests made headlines worldwide and put Dubai’s laws and culture into the international spotlight.
Palmer and Acors were found guilty in October of intercourse outside marriage and offending public decency.
They were sentenced to three months in prison and also fined Dh1,000 (US$272) for public drunkenness. However, the court of appeals suspended their sentence in November and ordered their deportation.
Acors had trouble complying with the order as confusion over his visa status and air ticket meant he was stopped at the airport three times. Both returned to the UK in December last year.
After the incident, the municipality stepped up beach patrols and put up warning signs to make people more aware of what constituted appropriate and inappropriate behaviour.
In April last year two women, from Lebanon and Bulgaria, were found guilty of kissing, and indecent public acts on a beach between Dubai and Sharjah. They were both jailed for one month.