http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/NationNF.asp?ArticleID=143296

Another shining example of the state of construction workers

Worker ends life after he was refused Dh50

A worker who had not been paid for five months killed himself because his company would not give him Dh50 to see a doctor, his suicide note said

The 25-year-old Indian man hanged himself on Thursday afternoon, police confirmed. Arumugam Ven-katesan hanged himself from the fan in his room, police sources said. He had been in the UAE for nearly a year.

They told Gulf News they had not been paid for five months. The company, which supplies workers to other companies, hired them out to work as electricians and on construction sites.

We came back around 4.30pm and found him hanging. He did not have money to see a doctor and asked the foreman for Dh50 as a salary advance, which he was refused. Instead, the foreman shouted at him.

Venkatesan was in debt, he had borrowed more than Dh7,500 to pay an agency to come to Dubai to work.

He, like us, was paid intermittently. He has a sister back home who was dependent on him. Venkatesan left a letter in his native Tamil language before committing suicide,” one worker said.

“We want the company to pay Venkatesan’s dues to his sister and repatriate his body,” another worker said.

The workers said they were paid about Dh3.50 an hour and worked 10-hour days. They claimed the company only provided accommodation and housed about 14 workers in one room. They had to pay for their food as well as the water and electricity bills.

Gulf News tried contacting the company but received no response. The workers said they had complained against the company at Bur Dubai police station on November 10. A police source confirmed this.

A compromise was reached at the police station, the workers said. The company would pay them two-months’ worth of salaries on the 25th of each month for five months until it cleared their dues. “After the compromise, we were given a month’s salary on November 11. The company has not yet given us anything else,” a worker said.

Gulf News contacted Yash Sinha, the Indian consul-general, who referred the suicide case to Venu Gopal, a social worker at the consulate. “We can’t help unless the workers approach us. We know nothing about the death of Venkatesan,” Venu Gopal said.

this is getting out of hand now
someone should tell these bastards what they are doing is discrimination at the hardest! :rant:

another sign, but nothing will happen?

i cant belive that it has not reached civil war level
yet it just shows how desprate these people are
they will put up will all most any thing

Workers to be exempt from attestation criteria

By Bassma Al Jandaly, Staff Reporter
Dubai: Unskilled expatriate workers will no longer need secondary school certificates once a new law is enforced by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

Sources at the ministry revealed that orders had been given to amend a previous law introduced in 2002 to say that a minimum qualification of secondary school education was required for all foreign workers.

No announcement has yet been made on the decision and sources were unable to say when the ruling would come into effect.

In the past, the ministry ordered that all those working in the service sector required a secondary school certificate attested by various authorities in their home country and the UAE.

The process would start with attestation by the ministries of education and foreign affairs in their home countries as well as the UAE mission.

Approval would then have to be gained from the ministry of foreign affairs in the UAE.

That procedure previously took nearly two months and would cost about $200 (Dh800) for each certificate. The decision had concerned employers, especially those in the contracting and service sectors.

Many people in those industries, and officials at the ministry, said these requirements and the attestation are a waste of time and money.

They were also depriving them of good employees who were unable to afford the attestation or did not have the qualifications.

In a meeting held last week between Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, and the head of the departments in the ministry, Dr Al Ka'abi gave instruction that visa applications without secondary school certificates will be accepted. "It has not been announced officially but this will be the situation," an official from the ministry said.

The source said the minister is trying to make it easier for companies to attract skilled workers who do not have school certificate.

"Those who are working in contracting or those who are drivers, tailors, cleaners and other similar jobs will not be asked for the secondary school certificate any more," he said.

Rami from Jordan has been working in Abu Dhabi for more than two years and changed his job recently.

He studied only up to Grade 10, which is the minimum standard required by the UAE's Ministry of Labour.

"When I first came to the UAE, no one asked about my certificate, but now I have found a better job in Ajman. I was told I needed to have my certificate attested by the authorities in my country. This would have been difficult for several reasons," Rami said.

"Last week I applied for a new visa in a labour office in Ajman and they accepted it without an attested secondary school certificate," he said.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/NationNF.asp?ArticleID=143288

And this just means more to take their place.

This is a little upsetting. :(

Yes , its really disgusting how these companies are given the green light to treat those workers like that !! if this guy was muslim , he knows he is going to hell :/ he should not of killled himself , on the other hand , i dont know how the other side live and feel :(

i just wonder what would happen if these workers took the whole issue to court?
trial rejected or what? :ohno:

Incidents like this gives the world an excuse to point fingers at the Arabs. Having lived in the UAE all my life, I understand the Emaratis and feel they are no more racist than any other race in this world. However, that is not the opinion of the vast majority of people elsewhere. A friend of mine told me that his Dad refused to work in Dubai because he felt that the people from the sub-continent were treated very poorly. There are millions out there who think negatively about the UAE people. Its unfortunate but things must change.

This is just my opinion - someone who grew up in the UAE but now lives outside where I can hear people bitching about the Arab world freely. Its pathetic.

Hehehe.

I got banned from an Islamic forum when I mentioned that Mekkah will build a skyscraper, and tried to defend the Gulf states' use of wealth.

The majority of people, whether Americans, Pakistanis, or Muslims of other nationalities, had a very poor opinion of the Gulf and they cursed the "kufr" and arrogance in the country.

Funny thing is, they didn't know Abu Dhabi was part of the UAE. And when they were shown evidence of charity work done abroad, they said that the Mafia also does charity work and just because someone gambled and won 10 million dollars in Atlantic City and then chose to give 1 million for charity, it doesn't mean he's a saint.

They should stop putting in ceiling fans in apartments. They've been a major source of suicide.

well, there are many other ways to commit suicide
people shouldn't work on laws about air conditions!
they should work on laws of justice!!

Sad incident. Exploitation of man by man is as old as history and happens everywhere. It isn't UAE or Dubai specific.

I cannot say about other countries, but in India, Dubai is generally considered a glamorous place and the place to make lots of money.

It's the lure of getting rich quickly that makes many of the employment agencies trap gullible workers in India.

The professional class is generally less prone to such exploitation. It's the low skill level people who often get a bad deal.

For every tragic story, there are probably a thousand good stories. Several districts in India have seen a lot of wealth flow in because of the job opportunities in UAE.

Hehehe.
The majority of people, whether Americans, Pakistanis, or Muslims of other nationalities, had a very poor opinion of the Gulf and they cursed the "kufr" and arrogance in the country.


I have met so many people like that here in Toronto, eventually I just stopped correcting them.

The company is happy to get rid of a worker, and evil continues!!! This problem of these contractors not paying the workers happen here in Abu Dhabi too in numerous ammounts.

why isn't there a law about not paying the workers there salaries on time?

zuhammed, are you sure such a law doesn't exist?

it probably exists, but why are so many companies breaking the law, and how come the police is not doing any thing about it, this doesn't make sense to me.

the situation is very difficult to judge as nobody talks about it of course
but you're right, it doesn't make sense at all
otherwise i would find it very strange if there wasn't a law for this

but i'm convinced there is a law, but the companies might be corrupt. means, on paper they pay, but in reality no money will be transferred and they are doing it in a way police and investigators can't prove it :dunno:

Incidents like this gives the world an excuse to point fingers at the Arabs. Having lived in the UAE all my life, I understand the Emaratis and feel they are no more racist than any other race in this world. However, that is not the opinion of the vast majority of people elsewhere. A friend of mine told me that his Dad refused to work in Dubai because he felt that the people from the sub-continent were treated very poorly. There are millions out there who think negatively about the UAE people. Its unfortunate but things must change.

This is just my opinion - someone who grew up in the UAE but now lives outside where I can hear people bitching about the Arab world freely. Its pathetic.


I think that treating foreign workers poorly has much more to do with greed than racism. Just because workers come from poor contries doesn't mean that you should treat them like shit, UAE is wealthy enough to give these workers a fair go.

it probably exists, but why are so many companies breaking the law, and how come the police is not doing any thing about it, this doesn't make sense to me.

They work. Thats why Dubai Police founded a new department called "Workers Rights Department" couple of months ago.

one major thing dubai lacks is respect for anyone or anything ( to a degree )

Steps are being taken but the change in the culture of business will take generations

it probably exists, but why are so many companies breaking the law, and how come the police is not doing any thing about it, this doesn't make sense to me.

Corruption basically, even in a city as "westernised" as Dubai there is still a lot of things you can get away with if you know the right people

Corruption basically, even in a city as "westernised" as Dubai there is still a lot of things you can get away with if you know the right people

That is true. however its not comparble to corrupted government like the palestanian government and almost all the neighbouring countries and north africa.

its on a diff level
I belive it much worse that a corrupt upper goverment
In Dubai there is not that. I think they had the true intrest of the country at heart. Somethat is alcking in the rest of the world these days as it just not possible. But those does not filter down to the rest of the people in dubai

juiced , so your saying corruption doesnt exsist in western nations ?

more so but not in the same form i belive

Police detain three workers for ‘inciting’ work stoppage

DUBAI — Three workers of a Dubai-based company were taken to police station on Sunday for questioning, in the context of protests following the suicide of a worker some days ago. The workers, staying at their camp in Satwa, allegedly incited their co-workers to stop work

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2004/December/theuae_December328.xml&section=theuae&col=

Lack of respect in Dubai is from all people towards all people. The mix of nationalities don't get along together.

Face it, Dubai is full of racism from everyone. The etiquette is garbage.

i wouldn't say that bulldozergirl
of course so many nations can't live together in perfect harmony
there will always be differences

but compared to other countries dubai is a heaven for all nationalities
here in germany we really still have racist problems, damn it :ohno:
some people didn't learn from our/germany's terrible history

in dubai there definitely are some racial problems, but still not comparable to what's going on in other countries

but i agree that once more pakistanis and indians seem to be discriminated, especially construction workers, who don't get paid (but only some companies do it the dirty way)
(don't forget, these people are actually those who "build" dubai!!)
the ironic thing is in dubai they earn much much more money than at home although it still is a very little income

I hope one day shiekh mohammed bin rashid will get up on stage and say something like


"i`m going to kick very company and put any manager in jail if they dont start taking care of their workers like their own children"

i mean ya allah , those people are building this country and are still treated like shit

i believe they should get the following

1- colgate , soap , shampoo per month + tooth brush + nail cutters
2-Shoes and sandles every 6 months or year
3-three trousers and three shirts every year
4-make sure there is a bathroom for every 2-3 people MAX
5-free ticket back home every 3 years
6- free medical insurance under 5000 dhs
7-..................ect

juiced , so your saying corruption doesnt exsist in western nations ?

Nope that's not what Im saying, corruption exists in all countries, just recently the British Home Secretary has been accused of a visa scandal, fastracking his lover's nanny's visa application etc
But in Dubai it seems to be much worse and sometimes you get the impression nothing much is being done about it. Take a look at what happened with the worker who hanged himself, if this were in the UK for instance there would be outrage, name-and-shame of the company's owners, inquiries etc...
But what has happened to them so far, apart from the news being reported in Gulf News? Not much really

edit: Not that corruption here in Dubai is as bad as neighbouring countries, in fact it's one of the least-corrupted places in the region, but things like basic human rights and the right to getting paid on time should be standard and not debatable

The British press likes sensationalisation, that's why you keep reading certain stories about mistreated people or whatever. There are millions there, those who get mentioned and have something done about their case are very few.

Even in Dubai there are cases where abused people are helped and something is done about their employers who don't pay them.

Westernisation does not mean less corruption. The only difference is that in Western countries they're corrupt and wear suits and eat cheese and drink wine, so some people look at them and think they're educated and have morals, when actually they're full of crap like everyone else.

And you can blame the British for whatever corruption there is in Dubai, since they didn't do a good job of teaching the savages how to run a country and what morals they should have when they colonised the place.

The only difference is that in Western countries they're corrupt and wear suits and eat cheese and drink wine, so some people look at them and think they're educated and have morals, when actually they're full of crap like everyone else.

:hahaha: :rofl: :applause: :lol:

300 workers protest over wages

By Bassma al Jandaly, Staff Reporter

Dubai: More than 300 workers protested their company's failure to pay them for the past six months.

The men marched on Shaikh Zayed Road in Al Quoz yesterday. They said the situation is so bad they are unable to buy food.

The workers, who are employed by a contracting company, said their salaries are Dh400 to Dh700 a month and they have not been paid for the last six months.

"We have to borrow Dh2 to Dh5 from people daily so we can buy food. We eat once a day," one of the workers said.

The situation was inhumane and unfair, he said.

"We have family to support at home and we came to the UAE to earn money to feed our children not to beg," he said.

The workers - who are from India, Pakistan, Egypt and Nepal - have said they are tired of their employer's promises.

"They keep buying time by making promises. They keep saying they will pay us next week, but they do not do as they say," one worker said.

"They should pay our salaries. I paid about Dh8,000 to an agent to come and work in the UAE. I borrowed the money and now I am without even money to buy food," another worker said.

The company's management kept promising their salaries would be paid.

"Every day they tell us that they will pay us next week - and next week they ask us to wait another week. We are not even able to go the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs because we do not have money for transportation. Today, we are going to walk to the ministry if the company does not pay our salaries," another worker said.

"We are worried about what will happen to us after. But for how long are we going to be in this situation? We want the authorities to help us and push our company to pay what is due to us," a worker said.

"We have been promised by the company management they will solve our problem and pay our salaries. They give us false hope. So after many promises, we are no longer sure if they will do it or not. They are no longer credible," another worker said.

Come on. All you Emiratis out there must admitt to how racist the Persian Gulf Arabs are to people from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. We are all treated like animals because we come from poor countries. The reason for this is because the people are Jahil and have been made Jahil by the wealth Allah(swt) has given them. Racism is a form of pride and the people should revert to the noble way the Rasool(saw) treated people and He(saw) was an Arab.
Remeber in the Rasool(saw) last sermon, before Allah(swt) took His soul "No Arab is better than a non-arab"

Come on. All you Emiratis out there must admitt to how racist the Persian Gulf Arabs are to people from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. We are all treated like animals because we come from poor countries. The reason for this is because the people are Jahil and have been made Jahil by the wealth Allah(swt) has given them. Racism is a form of pride and the people should revert to the noble way the Rasool(saw) treated people and He(saw) was an Arab.
Remeber in the Rasool(saw) last sermon, before Allah(swt) took His soul "No Arab is better than a non-arab"

i'm sorry i disagree... i'm an indian... i think its in all our heads... if someones treatin you differently.. it's in your head tht ur indian or whatever... and u're being treated differently just because of that.. maybe you are but maybe they havea reason besides your race !?? i think racism in dubai is just over stated!!! it exists but it's not that bad at alll- to whine about... ! to say we're treated like animals is just such an ignorant remark in my opinion!!!

the labor force.. yea thats just wrong... the way they'r treated... they could complain about how they're treated like animals... ! it's sad... they should have a labor city.. where every company was made to provide free housing for the construction workers they hire... without having 10-15 ppl cramped up in a little room!

Unpaid workers promised salaries soon

Dubai: The 300 workers who protested this week because they have not been paid in six months will get their money but it will take time.

The workers marched to the offices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs after their company failed - again - to pay them.

An official from the ministry said six workers from the company came to the ministry accompanied by a police official and the owner of the company to resolve the matter.

The manager of the company agreed to pay two-months' salary and the rest will be paid over the next four months, said Jasem Al Banna, assistant director of the labour relation department.

The workers will receive their wages and their case will be followed by the ministry, he said.

About 300 workers marched from 7am till 11am on Shaikh Zayed Road in Al Quoz on Saturday.

When the workers protested, police came and asked them to go to work. Police took six of the workers to represent the group at the ministry.

"Police came to us and they asked us to go to work and they took six of us with them to the labour court," one worker said.

The workers are employed by a contracting company and are paid Dh400 to Dh700 a month.

The workers said when the company recruited them they were told they would be paid more than what they are receiving.

"They told us they will pay us our wages and they asked us to continue our work. We refused and we will protest till they settle the problem."

One of the workers said the situation is miserable. "No money to eat or even to go for medical treatment."

"They treat us like slaves," he said.

It was their only choice, he said, to protest and march on the streets of the city so somebody would listen to them.

"Our families in our country need our support. If the company cannot pay our salaries, then why are they running a business?

"We are humans and the company should take that into consideration."

He said they will not work until they receive their salaries.

i just would like to have a confirmation if the companies either are not able to pay or don't want to pay. I guess it's the second option, but which company cares about aed700 monthly salary?
this is just insane. in other countries companies would be happy to just pay let's say aed1500!

Depressing, :( they should be treated fairly, coming from developing countries to look for a better life.

i dont think its so much race
but just taking advantage it would make no diff where they from

Would it make a difference on their financial status? (not trying to offend anyone here.)

Indirectly..they are low income workers and so less educated than other workers, so employers take advantage of them, knowing they are less likely to complain or go to the authorities

correct, if they were doing this with let's say european workers there would be huge protests and strikes.

i just know when a group of people (eg conmstruction workers) is not satisfied with their company due to omissions of payments they strike and don't do anything until the situation changes!

but in the local news we only hear about very small groups who dare to protest!

i heard very mild forms of labor unions were legalized in the UAE (within the last 6 months)

anybody heard bout that?

^ Vaguely, though a lot of these labour unions are mainly Pakistanis, Indians and Philipinos, they normally stick to the same nationalities.

I read today that there are 300,000 illegal imigrante in the UAE and they are trying to solve the problem be cycling the jobs (i dont know what does that mean).

300k? :eek:

seems a bit exaggerated to me!
well, i'm sure there are many but 300k :dunno:

cycling the jobs maybe means changing jobs every few months. maybe you then can avoid being on a list or something :dunno:

300k? :eek:

seems a bit exaggerated to me!
well, i'm sure there are many but 300k :dunno:

cycling the jobs maybe means changing jobs every few months. maybe you then can avoid being on a list or something :dunno:

Am not sure either but that what the minister of labour said. In the last 2 years 2 maids escaped from our house. They have some sort of gangs and have relation with each other to escape from houses. We used to treat and pay them really well I still dont understand why did they escape. Every single house have a maid that escaped from it. Dont forget also the construction workers and people entering illegaly from the borders.

I read today that there are 300,000 illegal imigrante in the UAE and they are trying to solve the problem be cycling the jobs (i dont know what does that mean).

This number doesn't surprise me. How else could you sustain such a boom in construction industry over so many years. The government partly shuts an eye on this issue, even though they claim that they are doing something against it. I don't blame Dubai government, governments around the world do it so they can fullfill their infrastructure projects within budget.

I heard that the amount of illegal immigrants has risen a lot in the past year in Dubai, because world prices of iron and cement have shot up and the construction companies were finding it hard to meet their budgets so they had to resort to cutting on labour expenses.

but let's be honest here, do you really thing the dubai governemt will let them stay in the uae when they have finished work?

no, i'm sure they'll kick them out. on the long term it can't work like this!

In principle I agree.

Mohammed Alabar says in the radio interview on ameinfo.com <"if you don't do the job - get out of the way"> - that doesn't leave much doubt how Dubai Inc. handles people who are no longer required there.

For the next 10 years or so I anticipate that the 300,000 or so illegal immigrants will be required to meet time and budget constraints.

Found this on BBC news today, a worker in a labour camp hanged himself.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4249223.stm

Even though this incident is not representative of labour treatment in Dubai, its a reality around the world that the developed world relies on exploiting the less developed world to expand its wealth. The Pyramids in Gizeh, an equally amazing construction development such as The Palm islands weren't build by high-paid workers either. Humanity has progressed since then.

I agree with anyone that Dubai Inc. has to make sure that the contractors follow basic standards for the workers. That includes registering all the illegal immigrants so opportunities for abuse are minimized. Minimum wage I think is bullcrap, anyone who doesn't want to work for x amount in Dubai, doesn't have to.

In the end of the day its a personal decison - do I want an attractive tax-free salary package and am I at the same time willing to give up some of my personal freedom? This is a decision that anyone who intends to work in Dubai has to make for himself. Consider the premium you get over a salary in a Western Country as the price you pay to give up some of your freedom.

now read what is in today's news



Iris test traps 26,000 illegals

ABU DHABI — UAE immigration authorities have caught in two years 26,000 foreigners who attempted to enter the country illegally, using the eye-scan technology, a senior official said.


Speaking to Khaleej Times yesterday, Lt-Col Ahmed Nassir Al Raysi, Director of Information Technology (IT) Department of Abu Dhabi Police, who is in charge of the nationwide pilot eye-scanning project, said the arrests were made between October 2002 and January this year at various ports of the country.

The database now contains four million iris scan results. A total of 297,000 illegal immigrants who have been deported have undergone the iris test.

Lt-Col. Raysi said the eye-scanning system which had been employed by the Ministry of Interior at the country’s airports, border and sea exit points helped to detect this large number of violators of immigration law who were attempting to re-enter the country on fake or new travel documents after getting their original passports stamped with the six-month ban.

"Those who were refused entry to the country included banned foreigners who returned with new travel documents with data different from the one on their previous passports.

“They were caught at several entry points and were returned to their home countries."

The UAE had taken the lead in introducing the eye-scanning as the system has been introduced at more than 30 entry points, the official said.

He said the system provides many advantages including curbing fraud, impersonation and re-entry of foreigners banned from entering the country or illegal departure of black-listed foreigners.

According to scientists, iris-recognition technology was designed to be less intrusive than retina scans, which often requires infrared rays or bright light to get an accurate reading. Scientists also say a person's retina can change with age, while an iris remains intact. And no two iris blueprints are mathematically alike, even in cases of identical twins or triplets.

According to Lt-Col Raysi, in order to record an individual's iris code, a camera zooms in on the eye and grabs a sharp image of the iris. A low-level incandescent light illuminates the iris so that the camera can focus on it. One of the frames is then digitised and stored in a PC database.

The whole procedure takes less than a few seconds and can be fully computerised.

Contrary to what is commonly believed, contact lenses, even coloured ones, do not interfere with the process.

In addition, recent medical advances such as refractive surgery, cataract surgery and cornea transplants do not change the iris' characteristics.

In fact, it is impossible to modify the iris without risking blindness. Even a sightless eye having an iris can be identified by the iris scanning.