UAE labour minister satisfied with labour camp conditions after visit

Saqr Ghobash, left, Minister of Labour, talks with Hisham Sidani, operations manager for the ICAD Workers’ Village in Mussaffah, as he inspects the kitchen, residential, sports and service facilities.Show more

ABU DHABI // The Minister of Labour expressed his satisfaction at the living conditions of labourers, rebutting claims in international media relating to workers’ rights.

Saqr Ghobash was given a guided tour at a major facility in the capital – the ICAD Workers’ Village in Mussaffah – on Wednesday, accompanied by Ahmed Louqman, director general of the Arab Labour Organisation.

“The United Arab Emirates deals with external reports related to workers’ rights with an open heart and mind and won’t be ashamed by any statements declared,” said Mr Ghobash.

“We always work on fixing any imbalanced reports, as some of them are not based on reality, but instead based on weak surveys and samples with very limited content.”

Mr Ghobash said labour legislation was in line with the UAE constitution and that there were laws “regulating labour relations and implementing decisions to regulate the labour market in a form which provides protection for workers and their rights while ensuring employers’ interests under a balanced working relationship”.

He said that small housing camps that existed in different parts of the country would gradually disappear as employers reacted to guidance “to provide adequate housing compatible with the standards and requirements issued by the ministry”.

During the tour, officials were shown the living quarters, dining halls, kitchens and sports facilities at the site.

The ICAD Workers’ Village was built three years ago and was designed as a superior destination for workers in and around Abu Dhabi.

The facility currently houses 26,000 residents, most of whom work for industrial companies and hotels. Employees from the Gulf Piping Company comprise the largest group, about 6,000 individuals.

Residents usually do not pay for accommodation at the village themselves, but fees are arranged on a company-to-company basis.

“This is one of the best that I have seen,” Mr Louqman said.

“It is clean and the standard for the labourers is very high. I am very impressed with the standard and quality of the food.”

In response to international criticism of the UAE’s labour housing, Mr Louqman said: “Some external reports on human-labour rights are issued for political reasons, and others are designed to alert and address some faults to be fixed.”

Hisham Sidani, operations manager for the workers’ accommodation centre, said: “I think the visit went very well and the level of service that we have reached with our facilities is of a very high standard.

“His excellency the minister and his guest were very pleased, and I think they were very impressed with what we have to offer here.

“I am proud of all our services and everything we do here we do to a certain standard, which we believe is above and beyond what these workers were used to before. It is better than my accommodation when I was in college,” he said.

“Some of the remarks about labour accommodation in the international press are unfair. We have come a long way and I think the government of the UAE is doing everything it can to ensure a high standard and improve on what is on offer.”

To ensure continuing high living standards, all three meals served each day are tested by a trained microbiologist, working on-site.

“We do not just test cooked items, but also fresh foods served in salads. We test all three meals every single day,” said Mustafa Kuttikkydan, a lab analyst and hygiene officer.

“We conduct bacteriological tests and we also look at surface cleanliness in our kitchens. We also check the quality of the drinking water every day. We have never found anything dangerous here, but this must be continually done to ensure a high standard,” he said.