Workers’ Welfare Report 2017-2018
The workers ‘ rights report aims to implement a set of policies and programs adopted and applied by the government of the UAE during the years 2016-2017 and their critical impact on the labor market, through the insistence of the Ministry of human resources and Emiratization and its constant pursuit of enhancing transparency and balance in the contractual work relationship in line with its vision to empower the National Human Resources market and attract talent from different cultures of the world.
One of the most prominent legislative steps that have been implemented in the UAE labor market is the issuance of federal law No. 10 of 2017 on assisted labor, as well as a set of decisions related to approve contract forms, granting new permits for workers to move to a new job, termination cases and other cases.
Foreign Employment:
Adoption of international treaties on employment
The Ministry of human resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) is working hard to promote solid cooperation with labor-sending countries, which ensures the best performance of workers and contributes to the application of best practices during all stages of the temporary contractual work cycle. s This is clearly demonstrated by one of the most important forms of organizing joint cooperation between sending and receiving countries through what is known as the ” Abu Dhabi Dialogue”.
http://abudhabidialogue.org.ae/ar
The UAE has also concluded many international agreements and treaties in favor of developing the field of foreign labor in the UAE as one of the Arab countries that attract foreign labor, which has made the UAE the third largest source of remittances to countries of the world by its foreign workers, which has contributed to the development of the economy of their homelands and undoubtedly benefits the families of workers.
Among these agreements, but not limited to:
Convention No. 1 of 1919 concerning the limitation of working hours in industrial establishments to eight hours per day and forty – eight hours per week.
Convention No. 89 of 1948 concerning women and night work
Convention No. 100 of 1951 concerning equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and effort
Convention No. 182 of 1999 concerning child labor and its worst forms.
UAE labor awareness efforts:
* One of the most prominent state legislatures to educate their workers and make them aware of their rights and duty is the “Know Your Rights” Campaign, which consists in distributing guidebooks in several languages including Arabic, English, Hindi, Urdu and Malayalam.
As well as clarifying several legal guidelines in order to educate workers before and after their arrival in the UAE .These guidelines focus in particular on the new package of decisions that entered into force in 2016, which obliges the employer to provide the foreign worker – in a binding manner – a detailed job offer explaining all the rights and duties related to the parties, the work plan, its claims and conditions provided that it is written in the language that the foreign worker understands before officially contracting with the employer .
* The state’s efforts also include the design of some educational advertisements on digital screens.
* The state also translates various legislations, laws, ministerial decisions and regulations governing the work into various languages covering all segments of society.
* Rationing the conditions of termination of work through the employer granting the worker a new work permit to move to another job without prejudice to the rights of the parties; which will enhance the flexibility of moving from one job to another and ensure the continuity of production in the UAE labor market.
* The state is also keen to educate and sensitize the employer on how to report work injuries in order to ensure the safety of the worker and ensure the continuity of his work. We learn about them as follows:
- The employer must inform the Ministry of labor within 24 hours of any accidents, injuries or deaths caused to workers in the course of their work, while going to work or returning from work. He must also inform the ministry in the event of a worker’s absence from work for three days or more as a result of his injury at work or in the case of an occupational disease listed in the federal labor law, as amended No. 8 of 1980, by calling 80060.
The employer must also notify the Ministry of labor of the following data about the worker or employee:
- Name
- Business card number
- Property number
- History of injury
- Contact number of the responsible person
Read More The UAE Labor Law
Channels for resolving labor disputes:
The Ministry of human resources and Emiratization (MOHRE) has provided several channels for reporting complaints and in recent years has organized several courses and rehabilitation programs to qualify 63 legal researchers who speak several languages to consider disputes submitted to the ministry. In addition, 100 employees were trained to resolve disputes and arbitrate between the parties fairly and fairly quickly and satisfactorily without referring cases to the Labor Court.
Wage complaints:
Call 80060
Visit the ministry’s website to benefit from “my Salary “Service.
Smart applications
MOHRE app, Salama app and Aamen app, which could be reached and downloaded via the Appstore or Google play, these apps are completely user-friendly, highly secured and apply government standards which meets your demands.
Or by attending the ministry’s headquarters in all Emirates
For litigation:
The government of the UAE has raised any costs related to litigation, whether it is the registration of complaints or procedures to solve the problem within the ministry or through the judiciary, which hears cases referred to it by the ministry because they could not be resolved amicably between the two parties.
It is worth noting here that after the launch of the initiative to appoint a judge to deal with labor cases at the ministry’s offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the average number of cases submitted to the courts to resolve labor disputes fell from 27 days to only five days.
Amendments to the labor code January 2022:
With the start of the new year, the system began to work on Friday in the UAE, in light of the unification of the date of the Friday prayer sermon to start at one hour and a quarter of noon throughout the year, and in all Emirates – except the emirate of Sharjah – the dates of Friday prayer and Sermon have not changed
The federal authority for government human resources in the UAE (FAHR) also issued granting employees the opportunity to work remotely on Friday, but with the following conditions:
Must first determine which jobs can be done remotely.
The employee must meet the conditions and controls of remote work mentioned in the work system.
Give priority to remote work to the employee whose place of work is away from the location of his residence; taking into account any other humanitarian circumstances that the employee or worker may face in this regard.
The need to have sufficient currency density within the authority to ensure the continuity of work efficiency; so that the percentage of employees at the workplace should not be less than 70% of the total employees.
Adjustments to working hours:
Opening hours on Fridays are from 7: 30 AM to 12 pm so that the working hours are 4 and a half hours continuous.
Official working hours start from Monday to Thursday from 7:30 AM to 3: 30 pm so that the working hours become 8 continuous hours; except for the emirate of Sharjah; so that the working hours become 4 Assam work and 3 days off inclusive on Friday.
The UAE's policy on domestic helpers
Laws and regulations governing the rights and duties of on domestic helpers in the UAE:
The regulations and obligations between the employer and the domestic helpers are determined according to the Federal Law No. 10 of 2017 issued by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE:
The laws and regulations governing the rights and duties domestic helpers’ service are the responsibility of the Ministry of human resources and Emiratisation rather than the Ministry of Interior.
The new law codifies and regulates four main key areas:
Rights and privileges
Terms and conditions of employment contracts
Employment recruitment offices “Tadbeer””
Prohibitions
Domestic helpers’ rights:
- Receive the Agreed wages in the contract within ten days from the due date
- One day of rest per week, paid
- Get at least 12 hours of daily rest, including 8 hours of continuous rest.
- 30 days of paid annual leave
- Medical insurance must be at the expense of the employer
- 30 days of medical leave per year
- One–way ticket-at the expense of the employer once every two years
- Decent place to live
- Getting decent meals at the expense of the employer
- The obligation of the employer to any expenses related to the nature of the work, such as clothing for the work and its nature.
- Possession of personal identification documents such as passports, identity, etc.
**If there is any dispute between the employer and the auxiliary workers, either of them can file a complaint with the Ministry of human resources and Emiratisation. The ministry should work to resolve and mediate this dispute within two weeks. If this is not possible, the matter will be referred to the competent court, with the exemption of the auxiliary workers – under the new code – from the fees of litigation at all stages, giving priority to the consideration of the cases of the auxiliary workers and their speedy resolution.
Prohibitions:
The Prohibitions defined by the Domestic helpers ‘Act prevent the following:
- Employ anyone under the age of 18
- Discrimination based on race, color, gender, religion or political opinion
- Sexual harassment of a worker, whether verbal or physical
- Forced labor or any practice of labor that falls within the framework of trafficking in human beings, in accordance with laws promulgated or ratified by the state or conventions.
- Assigning the worker to perform work that causes him physical harm
- Employ the worker in a profession different from the nature of his work except with his consent, provided that it is one of the professions covered by this law.
- A foreigner residing in the UAE is not entitled to employ domestic helpers except through the temporary employment service that does not end with transportation; under the conditions, regulations and controls determined by the ministry.
There are some cases which this law does not apply:
- Those whose monthly income exceeds 25 thousand dirhams from individuals or families with proof of this income from known sources of income.
Categories authorized to obtain domestic employment in accordance with decisions issued by the Cabinet. - Fixed health conditions with approved medical certificates, with a suitable income for the family or individual not less than AED 15 thousand per month.
- Categories of professionals and senior positions such as consultants in various disciplines, judges and consultants.
- Any other cases estimated by the minister, which have guarantees of workers ‘ rights, and discipline for the labor market of this category of workers in the UAE.
Specific controls of the terms of the employment contract between the employer and the domestic helpers:
- A copy of the job offer must be provided by the assisted employment recruitment office “Tadbeer” to the worker, provided that this is before the worker leaves his place of residence. The employment contract approved by the Ministry of human resources and Emiratisation will include the terms and conditions of employment.
- Also, both the employer and the domestic worker have the right to terminate the contract if the other party does not comply with the fulfillment of its obligations.
- The employer has the right to cancel the contract even if the assistant worker complies with all his duties and this order is called “termination with no fault” and compensation is provided to the auxiliary labor specified in the text of the code on auxiliary labor in the UAE.
You can see te text of federal law No. 10 of 2017 regulating the rights and duties of auxiliary workers through the following link:
