DUBAI // Workers are being urged to report companies that withhold salaries as soon as possible in order to solve disputes and prevent them drifting into the illegal labour market.
Under UAE law employees can prosecute a company if they have not been paid for two months.
But in the current financial climate the Ministry of Labour has said it will involve itself earlier and must be told immediately if a company has failed to pay.
In addition to wanting workers to get money they are owed, ministry officials are anxious to avoid seeing a pool of workers stranded in the UAE forced through necessity to work illegally should a company reduce its staff.
"Financial crisis or not, companies should pay staff's salaries on time. Those who have not been paid should report their employers to the Ministry of Labour," said Saleh Ahad Saleh, the director of the labour office at the Ministry of Labour.
In an effort to control the illegal labour market, the ministry is also considering allowing those waiting more than two months for their wages to move to new jobs without being released by their current employer.
An adviser to Saqr Ghobash, the Minister of Labour, said: "The ministry will step in if companies fail to pay their employees. We are here to protect the rights of expatriate workers in the UAE as it's our responsibility. What we want to make sure is that all payments, as agreed in contract, should be paid on time and the ministry is aggressively pursuing these objectives.
"If people haven't been paid in over two months then staff can move on to other companies without having to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC), and pay for visa amendments. Fines would be levied against the company," he said.
"We are reviewing speculation that there will be a black market of labourers, but we are sure it won't happen as we have the mechanisms in place to avoid such scenarios."
"We recognise the protection of foreign nationals as a rule of law and the enforcement of the law is the mandate of the ministry."
He added that bailing out companies was not the responsibility of the ministry.
One international company did not pay the salaries of 150 employees for 10 weeks as it looked at securing the necessary funds to pay them.
Hit hard by the international global crisis, the financial director of the company told The National that it had to reduce its operations in other parts of the world in order to free the money needed to pay its UAE workers.
He confirmed staff had been waiting for 10 weeks for their money.
The Ministry of Labour did not intervene on this occasion.
So far this year there has been a record increase in court cases against employers who withhold salaries and refuse to issue the NOCs that enable people to change jobs.
The number of cases filed with the Dubai Courts Labour Cases Section in the first half of this year has increased 111.7 per cent compared with the same period last year.
Yesterday Mr Ghobash inaugurated the Third Human Assets Expansion Congress Mid-East in Dubai, which is being attended by 150 human resources professionals.
The two-day conference will discuss the latest challenges in the employment sector.
Over the past three years the UAE had seen an exceptional growth in the labour market, with an extra on million workers hired. "Today we are at the threshold of a new era in the administration of our labour market, which requires a critical diagnosing of the challenges facing the market," the minister was quoted as saying by the state news agency, WAM.
"The situation also demands an objective understanding of the root of the problems, adoption of appropriate strategies to develop human resources and to give the issue the priority it deserves in the nation's comprehensive socio-economic development programme."
Last night the Cabinet endorsed a new human resources draft Bill, the Minister of Health, Humaid al Qattami said.
The draft Bill contains clauses stipulating the replacement of the Civil Services Commission with a Human Resources Authority, which will evolve and support the administrative system and human resources development in the federal Government.
He said some of the labour challenges included the need to provide jobs for Emiratis below the age of 30.
More than 38 per cent of the national population is below the age of 15, while the rate of women venturing into the labour market is on the increase.
There was an expectation that the national labour force would double by 2020, to reach about half a million compared to the current 250,000, he said.
"This means our national economy must provide more job opportunities in the next 11 years than it created in the past four decades," he said, calling for collaboration between the private and the government sectors to overcome these challenges.
shafez@thenational.ae
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Afghanistan fixtures
- v Australia, today
- v Sri Lanka, Tuesday
- v New Zealand, Saturday,
- v South Africa, June 15
- v England, June 18
- v India, June 22
- v Bangladesh, June 24
- v Pakistan, June 29
- v West Indies, July 4
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
All%20The%20Light%20We%20Cannot%20See%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESteven%20Knight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMark%20Ruffalo%2C%20Hugh%20Laurie%2C%20Aria%20Mia%20Loberti%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Roll of honour
Who has won what so far in the West Asia Premiership season?
Western Clubs Champions League - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens - Winners: Dubai Exiles; Runners up: Jebel Ali Dragons
West Asia Premiership - Winners: Jebel Ali Dragons; Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership Cup - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Dubai Exiles
West Asia Cup - Winners: Bahrain; Runners up: Dubai Exiles
West Asia Trophy - Winners: Dubai Hurricanes; Runners up: DSC Eagles
Final West Asia Premiership standings - 1. Jebel Ali Dragons; 2. Abu Dhabi Harlequins; 3. Bahrain; 4. Dubai Exiles; 5. Dubai Hurricanes; 6. DSC Eagles; 7. Abu Dhabi Saracens
Fixture (UAE Premiership final) - Friday, April 13, Al Ain – Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
Challenge Cup result:
1. UAE 3 faults
2. Ireland 9 faults
3. Brazil 11 faults
4. Spain 15 faults
5. Great Britain 17 faults
6. New Zealand 20 faults
7. Italy 26 faults
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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What is Genes in Space?
Genes in Space is an annual competition first launched by the UAE Space Agency, The National and Boeing in 2015.
It challenges school pupils to design experiments to be conducted in space and it aims to encourage future talent for the UAE’s fledgling space industry. It is the first of its kind in the UAE and, as well as encouraging talent, it also aims to raise interest and awareness among the general population about space exploration.
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