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Vimala Vasan

Abu Dhabi , June 26

A NEW regulation for companies in the UAE recruiting expatriate labour that is scheduled to come into effect in October this year, has been welcomed by Indian mission officials as having the potential to safeguard workers' interests and prevent them from being exploited by employers.

The UAE labour authorities said that from October 1, companies applying for work permits will be required to furnish copies of the job offers they signed with the expatriate employees they want to recruit, along with copies of the labour contracts to ensure that the privileges promised to the prospective employees in the job offers are similar to those included in the labour contracts, according to the official Emirates News Agency, WAM, which cited local reports.

Mr Ahmed Khajoor, Assistant Under-Secretary for Planning at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, said that the Ministry will make it compulsory for all private companies applying for individual or group employment visas to furnish the details of the labour contracts of the employees to be recruited in order to curb the practice of cheating and exploiting them.

This follows several cases where companies lure workers into the country by making attractive offers, but once they arrive here, they make them sign contracts depriving them of many of the privileges promised to them in the job offers, the agency report said.

It will become mandatory for companies to furnish a copy of the job contract, which provides details of salary for the worker in question, the job description, accommodation, leave and other benefits.

Those details should be identical in both the job offer and the labour contract.

Mr N.U. Avirachan, First Secretary, Labour Affairs, Indian Embassy, told Business Line that the new regulation would definitely act as a safeguard as the job contract will specify the salary that the worker is entitled to.

"In the absence of prescribed minimum wages, the new regulation will ensure that the worker can refer to the contract, a copy of which will be provided to the Ministry, to resolve his case in the event of any exploitation by the worker," he said.

The Indian embassy official pointed out that in many instances, workers could not defend their cases in court as their employers had refused to furnish them with a copy of their job contract.

They were subsequently employed on wages lower than that stipulated by the contract and just accepted the situation, mainly in order to avoid going back home, he said.

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