This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 000286 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE PASS TO USTR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ELAB PREL ETRD AE
SUBJECT: UAE LABOR UPDATES 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  On January 22, Econoffs met with Dr. Khalid 
Al Khazraji, Undersecretary for Labor Affairs, at the 
Ministry of Labor to discuss recent changes to the UAE labor 
system.  Dr. Al Khazraji explained the procedures for filing 
a labor complaint and for changing sponsorship and also 
discussed the MOL,s position on strikes.  The U/S noted that 
the 2005 labor statistics are not currently available but, 
tentatively offered to give Econoffs some of those statistics 
when they become available.  The U/S did verify that 2.7 
million workers are currently registered with the MOL. This 
does not include government workers, workers in the free 
trade zones or domestic servants since these groups are not 
covered by the labor laws.  Al Khazraji estimated that there 
are more than 100,000 workers at the free zones with possibly 
around 45,000 government workers.  (Note: the government 
figure seems low.  According to IMF reports, 264,000 people 
worked in government services and 200,000 worked as domestics 
in 2004.) The Ministry of Interior recently announced new 
changes in the law regarding domestic workers.  Emboffs have 
raised the issue of protecting the rights of domestic workers 
with UAEG officials as part of our discussions of actions the 
UAE needs to take to be removed from the Tier 2 Special Watch 
List and to receive a more favorable rating in the 2006 
Trafficking in Persons Report.  We expect labor laws and 
practices to continue changing in the foreseeable future, as 
the UAEG attempts to meet the minimum labor standards 
required for a free trade agreement.  End Summary. 
 
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Dispute Resolution 
------------------- 
¶2. (SBU) Econoffs asked Al Khazraji about workers, rights to 
strike in the UAE.  The U/S said the labor law does not 
mention the right to strike, and that the government does not 
retaliate against protesting workers.  Al Khazraji said that 
the MOL encourages workers to file a complaint before 
striking, while adding that striking was often the only way 
workers could get their complaints resolved.  He specifically 
mentioned a recent strike in Sharjah by workers of the 
Perfect Group.  Local press reported that on January 14 more 
than 1,500 Indian and Bangladeshi workers of the Perfect 
Group, and 2 other companies, protested unpaid wages and 
inhuman living conditions.  The striking workers told the 
press that they lack health insurance and said that if they 
get sick they were fined AED 100 ($54 USD) a day.  Some 
workers from the Perfect Group also claimed that they were 
beaten and were locked out of their accommodations for one 
day after the protest.  Dr. Al Khazraji noted that, &the 
Perfect Group is not so perfect,8 but asserted that the 
problems had been resolved to the benefit of the workers. 
(Note:  In order for the USG to sign an FTA with the UAEG, 
the UAE,s labor laws and regulations must afford adequate 
and appropriate protections for workers to form organizations 
and federations of their choosing to represent them in 
defending their employment interests.  End note.) 
 
¶3. (SBU) Al Khazraji explained the complaint process, which 
must be filed in Arabic, and described it as &easy.8   The 
complaint form must list the employee and employer,s names 
and a brief description of the grievance.  After the 
paperwork is filed, MOL inspectors and legal advisors visit 
the work site to investigate the allegations.  After the 
investigation, the MOL holds a mediation session with the 
worker and the employer.  According to Al Khazraji, 
approximately 85% of collective dispute cases are settled at 
the MOL.  The rest are referred to the courts.  After a 
decision is reached, both parties sign an agreement which is 
binding.  The MOL then follows up with the employee to see if 
the terms of the agreement have been upheld.  Al Khazraji 
said that requiring the complaint be filed in Arabic helps 
reduce the administrative burden on MOL,s labor relations 
officials, which would otherwise have to take the depositions 
directly in several languages.  If the worker is not able to 
type up the complaint in Arabic himself, he can pay 10 AED 
($2.50 USD) to a typing service to have the form prepared, 
noting that the typists understood the forms and speak both 
Arabic and the languages of the workers. 
 
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MOL Sponsorship Transfer Regulations 
------------------------------------ 
¶4. (SBU) Al Khazraji also clarified changes to the UAE labor 
regulations pertaining to changing employers.  All workers 
who enter the country on a labor permit are limited to the 
number of times that they may change employers under that 
permit.  Under the rules, highly skilled foreign workers 
(those holding graduate or professional degrees) are allowed 
to transfer jobs after one year, with no limit on the number 
of changes possible.  Workers holding bachelor,s degrees are 
allowed to change employment after two years, with a maximum 
of two transfers.  Unskilled workers are permitted to change 
employment after three years, but can only change once.  In 
each case, leaving the UAE for 6 months and filing for a new 
labor permit restarts the process, i.e., allowing the worker 
more transfers.  The fees to change sponsorship range from 
AED 400($1,500 USD) for professionals to AED 5,000 ($1,350 
USD) for unskilled workers.  Al Khazraji said that the 
purpose of the higher fee for unskilled workers is to make it 
harder for them to switch employers.  Unskilled laborers make 
up a large percentage of the workforce and the employers of 
unskilled workers are the most likely to engage in visa 
trading. 
 
¶5. (U) Al Khazraji explained that any worker who wishes to 
change jobs must have a letter of "no-objection" from the 
sponsoring employer, unless they have a valid reason to 
dispute their existing labor contract (such as non-payment of 
wages for at least 3 months) or if they complete their 
contract.  Only those workers who do not  meet either of the 
exceptions listed above, and do not have a letter of 
"no-objection" must leave the country for six months before 
changing employment.  The U/S stated that this is not written 
in the law, but it is the normal practice of the MOL.  Al 
Khazraji also said that if an employee had not also finished 
the legal minimum time in country (see para. 4)*i.e., 3 
years for an unskilled worker, he would have to leave the 
country for 6 months before beginning a new job.  The MOL 
also has the ability to administratively transfer workers in 
response to problems that have not been resolved for 3 months 
(such as unpaid wages.) The new sponsor is responsible for 
paying the change-over fee. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
MOI Sponsorship Transfer Regs for Domestic Servants 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
¶6. (U) Econoffs also asked Al Khazraji about the recent 
changes in the sponsorship transfer rules for maids.  The U/S 
said that although domestics do not fall under the purview of 
the MOL, he is aware that the Ministry of Interior has been 
working on updating the regulations.  Press reports say that 
effective February 1, the one-year entry ban has been lifted 
for all domestic servants who complete their two)year 
contracts.  Rashid Al Khedar, legal consultant of the General 
Directorate of Naturalization and Residence at the Ministry 
of Interior, was quoted in Gulf News as saying, &these 
workers will be allowed to obtain an employment visa 
immediately following canceling of their visas without ban. 
They will also be allowed to transfer sponsorship once for up 
to 90 days.  This privilege will be granted only if the 
domestic help complete their job contract and give a notice 
of at least 30 days before the end of the contract.  These 
two conditions can be scrapped if the original sponsor agrees 
to the transfer.8  UAE officials have promised to develop 
and implement an effective legal mechanism for protecting the 
rights of foreign domestic workers and laborers, possibly by 
extending them formal legal protection under the UAE,s labor 
law.  The Tier 2 Watch List Action Plan we shared with the 
UAEG last fall also calls for a public awareness campaign 
highlighting the rights and obligations of domestic workers 
and laborers, and the consequences of abusing such workers. 
 
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Revised Labor Laws 
------------------ 
 
¶7. (SBU) Econchief ended the meeting by asking about the 
status of the updated labor laws.  Al Khazraji said that he 
hopes that the law will be passed soon.  Press reports 
confirm that the UAEG has passed a copy of the draft labor 
law to the ILO for comment. 
SISON