No excuse for failure of UAE labour laws

Jamie Stewart, Senior reporter

It is not every day that you get officials from the UAE and Qatari labour ministries in the same room as those from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, contractors from across the GCC, and Washington DC-based workers’ rights group The Solidarity Centre.

Such a coming together, as was seen both at last week’s GCC Leadership Summit and the MoL’s human rights seminar, provides much to discuss, no matter what side of the fence your interests lie. Particularly as the light of international media coverage has been shining more fiercely than ever on the region’s labour market.

To place the spectrum of labour issues in their rightful economic context, it has been seven months since the slowdown enveloped the region.

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In that short timeframe, the GCC-wide construction industry lurched from denial at Cityscape Dubai 2008, to fear as jobs were lost in their thousands. Then from shock as projects were canned and firms struggled to accommodate a new industrial landscape, to acceptance as chairmen and CEOs sought out buoyant GCC markets and new ways of doing business.

Which brings us the full cycle: to pragmatism. The theory has been laid out, and the industry must now enact the practical steps to achieve sustainable growth. A subject that has labour relations at its core.

The office of the ruler of Dubai is stepping into the labour camp issue with a new wave of standards, while the MoL has pledged to work in tandem with countries of origin to clamp down on illegal recruitment practices and also has plans to protect the accurate and prompt payment of worker’s salaries.

But making promises is the easy part. Implementing them in a timely fashion is tougher. Doing so will require stakeholder groups to show more of the cooperative spirit that was on show at last week’s conference.

The authorities face the task of stitching many disparate elements together to form an acknowledged agreement. All the people will not necessarily be happy all the time. But decisions must be implemented with the industry’s long-term interest in mind.

The path to a renewed level of sustainable growth depends upon such pragmatic steps. As MoL executive director Yousuf Abdulghani said at the GCC Leadership Summit: “Everything that we promise, we practice. We do not do window dressing.”

Words that the industry will welcome, regardless of private interests. There’s no excuse for failure now.