MoL cracks down on RAK firms over injured workers

The Ministry of Labour will conduct a nationwide investigation

The Ministry of Labour in the UAE has fired a warning shot to construction companies in Ras Al Khaimah to improve their attention to hospitalized workers, following complaints from the hospitals of negligence.

Following a general notice on the Ministry of Labour’s website, a spokesperson for the department confirmed to CW that some hospitals had contacted the Ministry to report that companies would leave employees who suffered falls and other injuries in care without follow-up enquiries as to their recuperation.

“These companies would admit workers and not then come and get feedback, and hospitals have been making complaints,” said the spokesperson. “There are so many cases, so many accidents, particularly in the summer. That’s why the Ministry of Labour is conducting investigations.”

The spokesperson added that although Ras Al Khaimah has been the chief source of complaints, all of the Emirates will be subject to further scrutiny coming up to the summer months.

The inspection department in the Ministry will decide on the penalties to continued negligence on a case-by-case basis. The Ras Al Khamiah office was unavailable for comment.

It follows a demand yesterday morning by the Ministry to a foreign construction company to pay workers’ wages that have been delayed from between three and seven months. The ministry has given the company a week to pay the salaries or will refer the officials in the company for investigation.

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Employer accountability and documentation may be set for upheaval following a pledge by India’s new ambassador to UAE to target the plight of workers from his homeland working in the country

In his first month after replacing Tamiz Ahmed, MK Lokesh identified the transparency of contracts for immigrant workers and their aversion from petty crime as a 'major issue' for his tenure.

Indians make up the majority of the UAE construction workforce and the subcontinent is frequently cited as the country’s most important trade partner and a vital source of labour for construction.

In an interview with The National on Saturday, Mr Lokesh highlighted the importance of ensuring that working conditions in the Emirates correspond with the contract they signed at home, and announced a new database of labour contracts by the end of 2010.

Preliminary plans suggest employers would have to submit contracts when seeking work permits for immigrants to a centralized system, allowing transparency between what workers signed for and how they end up.

Ellan Goram, consulate in the India embassy, Abu Dhabi, confirmed to CW that there would be an electronic database for all employers. “The contract [system] is being revised – there are a lot of schemes, a new set of measures,” he said, though could not say any more at the time of speaking.

The Ministry of Labour spokesperson said they had no such awareness of a scheme as yet.