The labour issue took a new turn after 3,500 workers announced recently that they were going on strike without giving prior notice to their employer. They were demanding higher salaries and threatened to stay away from work if their conditions were not met.
The Permanent Labour Committee, which is known for its support for the workers in cases of dispute, intervened to solve the problem. However, after reviewing the relevant details, it reached the conclusion that the workers' demands were illegal.
Any other arbitrator in the world would have reached the same conclusion, for the simple reason that the workers have signed their labour contract on their own accord and without any pressures from anyone, at least here in the UAE.
Their current labour contracts are valid for three years and they have just completed a year. This is why their demand for an increase in salaries is illegal as well as unjustified. It screams of greed, blackmail and the wish to abuse others by hindering their work for no rightful cause.
The committee explained to the workers that any increase in salaries must be agreed upon by both the parties to the contract without any pressure, or upon the conclusion of the current contracts and issuance of new ones, and that their demand was not legally justified.
It warned them that they either have to return to work or if they are not willing to do so then they should terminate their contracts and return to their respective countries after collecting all their dues.
The case, however, did not end here. The workers refused both the options. They said the only option available to them was to hang around and prevent others from doing their work.
What else can we expect? The issue has exceeded all acceptable limits by far. According to the committee, about 80 per cent of labour protests registered this year were staged to demand higher salaries.
If I were one of the concerned parties, I would have told the workers: "Thank you, but if you do not want to work for the current salaries, then no one can force you to work against your will. Our relations end here. These contracts with your companies should have been based on mutual benefit, trust and understanding. If not, they must be terminated."
This is what we can say to foreign workers. But what about the yellow journalism? These yellow newspapers only serve as a mouthpiece of foreign elements, even though they are published in our country and at our expense? These newspapers have at last found themselves a case and an editorial line in the labour issue, which is based on promoting cheap lies.
They are the same newspapers whose credibility in dealing with their reporters has been questioned, especially those who would not comply with the newspaper's fact-twisting policy.
Unprofessional
The problem with these newspapers is not just dealing with events in an unprofessional manner that does not take into consideration the ethics of journalism.
The main issue is that they even create problems, regarding issues that did not exist before. This practice is carried out for reasons specific to the reporters and editors of these papers and to promote their own agendas.
To seriously address the problem, the first step is to estimate its actual size and perceive its future repercussions as well as hidden intentions.
Rashid Saleh Al Oraimi is a columnist for Al Ittihad newspaper.
