Work

The United Arab Emirates has extended the amnesty period for illegal workers to leave the federation by 2 months. The amnesty will now end on November 3 2007.

The additional grace period, however, is only for those who apply for amnesty before the original deadline of September 3 and have been unable to obtain travel tickets.

Illegal workers will face prison sentences of up to 10 years, while their employers could be imprisoned for 1 month and receive a fine of AED 50,000.

Dubai has been ranked the 34th most expensive city in the world for expatriate workers according to a survey released by Mercer, the consulting arm of Marsh & McLennan. Moscow heads the list, followed by London, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

The United Arab Emirates has announced an amnesty for illegal workers. Under the terms of the amnesty, which began on June 4, illegal workers have 3 months to either legalise their status or leave. Workers not complying face up to 10 years in prison followed by deportation, while their employers could be imprisoned for one month and fined 50,000 dirhams.

The Ministry of Labour has relaxed the work restrictions imposed on expatriate children. Under the new rules children above 15 living in Dubai under their parents’ sponsorship will be able to take up light jobs in restaurants and hotels during school holidays.

Expatriates in Dubai will be issued with multi-purpose identity cards from January 2008. The cards, compulsory for anybody older than 15, will include the holder’s blood group, fingerprints, photograph, nationality, sex, and date of birth.

They will eventually replace driving licences, labour, health and residency cards. They will also function as an ATM card and passport for entering GCC countries.

Dubai has been named as one of the most expensive cities in the world to rent an apartment. The survey, by human resources consultants ECA International, place the emirate 14th out of 92 cities included.

Hong Kong topped the list, followed by Tokyo, New York, Moscow, Seoul, London, Mumbai, Shanghai, Caracas and Paris.

Rents have risen at an alarming rent in the last few years, leading the government to introduce a 7% rent rise cap earlier this year. Rates are expected to fall though as many of the city’s mega projects reach fruition.

India is to cease granting emigration clearance to women under 30 seeking employment overseas as housemaids. The move, designed to stop the trafficking of its women for prostitution, will cover 17 countries including the United Arab Emirates.

Minister of Labour Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka’abi has announced that Dubai is to introduce a minimum wage. Yesterday he told the Gulf News, ‘This will apply initially to the construction sector, in which many hundreds of thousands of people work, and will then be expanded to cover the entire workforce.’ No implementation date or levels were disclosed.

Emirates Bank has unveiled a special banking package for expatriate workers. The ‘New to the UAE’ package is designed to provide an immediate and hassle-free banking relationship for those who are new to the UAE. Features include a current account, personal loan, credit card, car loan, and overdraft facility, as well as insurance products.

Figures released by the Dubai Statistics Centre reveal that the emirate has an unemployment rate of 2.6%, one of the lowest in the world. The Dubai Labour Force Characteristic Survey 2006 also shows that population has increased by 7% to reach 1,370,714 of which 78% are male and 22% female.