DUBAI, UAE – The UAE presented its legislative ecosystem – which regulates the local labor market, provides social security and ensures decent social security to workers – the UN’s Human Rights Council (HRC).
Several UAE federal, local government entities and civil society organizations were part of the delegation for the country’s fourth Human Rights Report at HRC in Geneva.
Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Communication and International Relations at the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization (MoHRE) Shayma Al Awadhi said, “In the past few years, the UAE has updated its legislations governing private sector employment relationships.”
She said, “A transparent contractual policy for workers in the UAE was developed and implemented, in which it holds recruitment agencies responsible for informing foreign workers of their employment rights, terms and conditions before leaving their countries.”
She added, “Charging these workers any recruitment fees has been prohibited.”
Al Awadhi said, “Dealing with any unlicensed recruitment agencies or agents in the UAE or abroad has also been prohibited.”
She said, “The new labor legislations include clear legal provisions that define and prohibit discrimination on all grounds as defined in international conventions.”
She added, “The legislations also ban any form of violence against workers as well as sexual harassment in the workplace; granting them the right to immediately terminate their employment relationship without compromising their rights if they were violated.”
Al Awadhi said, “MoHRE has provided workers across all professional levels with multiple channels to submit legal inquiries and receive their complaints in over 20 languages.”
She said, “Support is provided to workers, alongside reconciliation with employers to settle disputes amicably; if such settlements were not possible, they would be referred to the judiciary.”
She pointed out the UAE’s “advanced technological infrastructure which contributed to developing online and smart systems used in inspections and proactive monitoring.”
She said, “These include a system that recognizes risk factors through which priority is given to inspecting high-risk establishments.”
She added that the “Wages Protection System (WPS) is also available which supports the financial stability and mental wellbeing of workers and their families.”
Al Awadhi said, “MoHRE is responsible for examining the compliance of private sector establishments and their workers’ accommodations as per the provisions set by legislation that guarantees the rights of workers to decent working conditions and housing.”
She said, “We have also introduced an Unemployment Insurance Scheme, which covers workers in the UAE – citizens and residents alike.”
She added, “The scheme provides a temporary financial income for those who lost their jobs due to specific conditions.”
Al Awadhi said, “Another insurance system has also been developed for workers’ unpaid remunerations, including late wages and compensation for work injuries.”