Caring camp

Workers at one of Arabtec's Jebel Ali, Dubai, labour camps receive the municipality's award for camp cleanliness, hygiene and discipline.

This is your chance to highlight best practice within your company. This month fmME talks to Arabtec’s Lakshmi Arumugan.

Arabtec houses over 30,000 workers over 30 sites in Dubai alone - from Jebel Ali, Al Quoz, Nad Al Sheba, Dubai Sports City and Sonapur.

The camps are managed by a team of over 400 employees and monitored around the clock by camp co-coordinators, maintenance teams, camp supervisors and welfare personnel.

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Residents are housed as per municipality requirements: not more than six to a room, however large the room may be, with each resident provided with 40 square foot of living space. The outdoor environment is also important, and we have invested in shrubbery and plants to brighten the camps up.

Two camps have on-site water treatment plants, the recycled grey water being used to flush toilets and irrigation.

Peace and harmony
The camps house residents from all nationalities, and great care is taken to maintain a harmonious atmosphere. It’s very rare friction occurs, and when it does we expect it to be solved amicably.

Indeed, to build camp spirit residents are encouraged join together and participate in musical nights. These shows have become very popular, and were launched to curb what we call the ‘nothing to do syndrome’, which led to illegal alcohol consumption and subsequent unruly behaviour.

We also organise an outing for 140 residents every week for good work either on-site or in camp. They are taken to Al Saheel show at the Arabian Ranches development in Dubai. The show is between 7 am to 9 pm and snacks and drinks are provided to them during the show, and they can even groom the horses if they want.

Education’s what you need
From January 2008 Arabtec has been offering residents classes in basic English, health and hygiene, breathing techniques, basic social etiquette and safety at work. Students have shown that much enthusiasm classes have been extended with prizes up for grabs for class leaders.

Furthermore, about 40 employees were sent to Ministry of Health for First Aid training, while we are planning fire fighting training organised by the Civil Defense.

In-house training is important too, bearing in mind the background of the labourers. Poor hygiene is prevalent so we hold workshops sponsored by Unilever, which supplies personal care products. Residents, and especially cleaners, are taught basic day-to-day hygiene, how to shower and the importance of washing hands frequently.