Labour relations vital to industry success

Right, you might have noticed that there have been a few articles about Dubai in the international press recently. I think it would be fair to say that not all of them have been positive…

Of course, the stories for the most part are exaggerated and in my opinion downright falsifications.  However, a topic that comes up time and time again is the lot of the construction worker, and by extension that of the machine operator. In recent years great strides have been taken to make the workplace better for the employee, with the formation of Build Safe, as well as the municipalities own codes for best practice.

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Living conditions have been mentioned in the news several times. Actually, the various labour camps I’ve seen over the past couple of years have been clean and well run. (Of course few companies would be daft enough to show a journalist its accommodation if the facilities were in a bad state.)

However, from an industrial point of view, firms in the emirate must remember that labour relations need to be in line with international standards. Machine operators and skilled technicians earn a reasonable amount compared to regular construction workers, but we’d like to see companies complement this with a clear timetable setting out when they can expect training, and what they can expect in terms of pay and performance reviews or other benefits. Job roles should also be more clearly defined, and even from the lowest rung of the ladder, there should be opportunity for promotion, training and betterment.

Equally, companies that openly break the law must be dealt with quickly. The practice of withholding passports is totally illegal, and should be treated as such, swiftly and firmly. We also welcome a book, currently being prepared by the Ministry of Labour, which will be issued to all workers and make them aware of their rights.

Overall, the foreign newspaper articles were slanted and skewed – I could think of dozens of things wrong with London for instance, but putting them out of context would not give a fair treatment to a vibrant city. However, with the world’s media breathing down our necks we must be beyond reproach and treat employees with the best possible standards, recession or not. Dubai is one of the world’s great cities and everyone in the industry must strive to keep it that way.

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