UAE efforts on labour rights hailed

Minister of Labour Dr Ali bin Abdullah Al Ka’abi met the ambassadors of France, Finland, Sweden, Romania and the Netherlands and the Political and Public Diplomacy Officer of the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

French Ambassador to the UAE Patrice Paoli, who led the delegation, told Khaleej Times that the UAE has spared no efforts in protecting the rights of the workers.

“We recognise the efforts of the UAE government to provide mechanisms to protect the workers and create a decent work environment,” said Paoli.

The UAE would host the next three-day Colombo Conference, being held on January 20-22 in Abu Dhabi, in which 22 labour exporting and importing countries would participate, he said.

Representatives of labour-exporting Asian countries would meet their counterparts from labour-importing countries in the EU bloc and the GCC region at the conference.

Dr Al Ka’abi said the conference was being held in the UAE, which imported a large number of workers, for the first time.

“The discussions will lead to the signing of MoUs and agreements that will make protection of the basic rights of workers obligatory on the part of the governments,” said the minister.

Dr Al Ka’abi discussed with the diplomats the ways and means to provide good living conditions to the labourers in the UAE. The minister also explained to them the ministry’s new strategy in dealing with the applicants, workers and owners of firms.

On the recent labour protests, the minister said the organisations that criticised the UAE had not based their arguments on facts. One must remember that only around 11,000 among the total three million workers in the country had staged protests, he said.

“The government is trying to give the best conditions for the workers by enacting laws that ensure their rights, including legalising their status, and building new townships for them that comply with international standards. But at the same time, I would like to point out that illegal workers have no rights because they have breached the country’s law,” said Dr Al Ka’abi.