'Emiratisation' Not Too Frightening For Dubai Expats

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus

02 September 2003

Expatriate workers and their employers in Dubai were concerned earlier this year after the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai forms a part, announced a determined push to increase the participation of locals in the work-force under a policy known as 'emiratisation'. The UAE was considering 'intervention policies' that would secure the interests of employers and ensure the job stability of UAE nationals in the private sector.

"The underlying objective behind such laws and restrictions is to create a favourable work environment in the private sector for UAE national employees, that will positively affect their productivity and improve their attitude towards working in this important sector," said Matar Al Tayer, UAE Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.

No hard and fast legislation has emerged, however, other than some quota rules in the financial sector, and it turns out that Dubai employers have been too pragmatic to be much influenced by government suasions.

In August, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs confirmed that it had no plans to enforce a job emiratisation quota on the private sector or to restrict certain jobs to UAE nationals, the Ministry's Undersecretary said.

"The private sector is already cooperating and we should not jump to ban the recruitment of expatriate employees for certain jobs or add quotas to the private sector," Dr Khalid Al Khazraji said in an interview with Gulf News.

Dr Al Khazraji said the ministry had reached several agreements with the private sector for emiratisation and there was no current need for quotas such as the ones implemented in the insurance and banking sectors. However, he attacked individuals who are sponsored by their spouses or relatives for "taking a large chunk of jobs that are available to nationals". "These jobs are mostly occupied by expatriate women who are in clerical, administrative and secretarial positions. This is because they are free riders, they work for low pay and under minimum conditions which makes them more lucrative to employers than nationals," he said.

Head of the rapidly-expanding Dubai Internet City (DIC), Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, made it clear to the newspaper that emiratisation had its limits: 'It is part of our obligation to develop the national workforce within the country. Our stance on this is no different from anyone else's. At the same time, our organisation will continue to hire the smartest people from everywhere irrespective of nationality. We are looking for the best among UAE national candidates, who can cope up with the workload here and long hours. There are no free rides here. Only the best of the best can cope. You know what I mean?'

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