DUBAI, 26 March 2007 - The United Arab Emirates' proposed labor law falls far short of international standards for workers' rights, said Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a report released at a press conference in Dubai yesterday.
The law should be revised to protect workers' rights to organize, bargain collectively and strike, and to cover excluded groups such as domestic workers, the HRW report said.
In a 15-page report, HRW details how the UAE's draft labor law violates international standards and forwards suggestions on how it needs to be revised. On Feb. 5, the UAE Labor Ministry published a draft of a revised labor law on the Internet and invited the public to comment. HRW welcomed the move, but has provided critiques and recommendations on a number of issues.
"The Labor Ministry's request for comments on the draft law represents an important step toward reform and transparency in the UAE," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "We hope that the Labor Ministry takes advantage of this process to revise the serious flaws in its draft law."
In blatant contravention of international standards, the proposed law contains no provisions on workers' rights to organize and to bargain collectively and explicitly punishes striking workers.
"The UAE must amend its draft law to respect workers' rights to organize, bargain collectively and strike," said Whitson. "In the past year, the authorities have put down attempted strikes with violence rather than addressing the poor working conditions that fuel labor unrest."
"The government should extend equal labor protections to domestic workers instead of reinforcing the discrimination that they already face," said Whitson.
In addition, the report added that the draft law includes a number of provisions that discriminate against female workers. In violation of international human rights norms banning discrimination on the basis of sex, the proposed law limits women's access to nighttime employment and "heavy" work.
By sanctioning punishment for male guardians who violate the laws applicable to women, the law treats women workers as dependents rather than as competent adults with full and independent legal capacity.
The report continued that the draft labor law also fails to incorporate the 2001 Dubai Court of Cassation ruling that prohibited employers from confiscating the passports of employees. In its report on construction workers in the UAE, HRW found that the court's ruling, in practice, has had virtually no impact.
Dr. Ali bin Abdullah Al-Kaabi, UAE minister of labor, said that the ministry will encompass in its study the proposals forwarded by the HRW, as well as opinions expressed by other stakeholders.
"We do appreciate the comments made by the HRW about the draft labor law in the UAE and we will take them into consideration especially at this time, which is dedicated to receiving feedback from relevant organizations," he said.
The move by the Labor Ministry to solicit public opinion about the revised draft labor law through a specifically created website emanated from its profound belief in the principles of transparency and the importance of taking the views of all relevant parties into consideration, including those of Human Rights Watch, he added.
In a statement yesterday, Al-Kaabi said that the ministry has placed the revised draft law on the Internet and is receiving feedback from local, regional and international bodies, including local non-government organizations (NGOs), the International Labor Organizations and the Arab Labor Organizations (ALO).
Al-Kaabi noted that the ministry was still getting responses to the revised draft law. "Based on our values and principles and out of our keenness to grant workers their rights, we are going to thoroughly study all proposals," he said.
The minister reiterated that the UAE has a clean record of protecting workers' rights and in preserving the achievements made in that field.
"Placing the draft law on the Internet turned out to be an opinion poll, in which, everyone has taken part. The ministry will not back down on its transparent approach to the opinions reflected, whether we agree with them or not," the minister said.
He added that the feedback and comments on the revised draft law would be submitted to legislative and executive authorities in the UAE, including the Federal National Council.
