The UAE's labour workforce can hope for a better future in the wake of the declaration of the amnesty for illegal workers
Streamlining the UAE workforce was the main focus of the Ministry of Labour (MOL), which oversees more than 2.9 million workers employed by 285,000 firms.
The declaration of the amnesty by the government was a major move in this regard to weed out the problem of illegal workers. Nearly 340,000 workers amended their status or left the country during the three-month amnesty period, as per official statistics.
Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi, Minister of Labour, stresses that the presence of illegal workers in the country would lead to negative impacts on the UAE society, as they bring in practices totally strange to the country's traditions.
He acknowledges that the ministry faced a difficult situation as a result of law violations by some workers, which include lack of commitment to work contracts, overstay after the expiry of work permits, absconding and working illegally with other employers.
He also warns people against employing runaway workers and sheltering them.
According to the data collected by the MOL before the amnesty, based on the number of registered cases of absconding workers, there were 300,000 to 350,000 illegal workers in the country.
Stringent laws and rigorous inspections followed the amnesty and a two-month long grace period, which ended on November 2. As per the new law, those who employ an illegal worker would face a jail term and a fine of up Dh100,000 per worker.
The fine could go up to Dh5 million, based on the number of illegals. The penalty for employing an illegal person or providing him shelter is Dh50,000. A jail term would also be imposed if the offence were to be repeated.
Furthermore, the Federal Cabinet directed the Labour Ministry to prepare a proposal on the salaries of construction workers and also come up with a nation-wide set of standards and specifications for the workers' housing facilities.
There is also much stress on tackling the issue of demographic imbalance, the influx of expatriate labour and organising the job market. Al Ka'abi says the UAE is taking strenuous efforts to ensure the rights of expatriate workers and the country's commitment to international conventions on their rights.
Other key decisions that evolved this year include the move to make all salary payments electronic by 2008.
From next year, all companies operating in the country will have to adopt an electronic method to pay wages, allowing the ministry to ensure that monthly wages are paid to all employees without fail.
To do this, the Ministry has entered into tie-ups with various banking institutions, which would collect the wages from the companies and disburse salaries to their employees.
Facilitating a hassle-free salary disbursal, the system allows the MOL to have real time access to information regarding payment of salaries. Though the companies would be charged by these institutions, employees would not be charged to procure their monthly salary.
