UAE | Employment
Discrimination 'a big issue'
The Ministry of Labour receives few complaints about racial discrimination in the workplace because they are difficult to prove and victims are often afraid of losing their job, a labour official said.
- By Charles Stratford, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:33 May 3, 2009
Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Labour receives few complaints about racial discrimination in the workplace because they are difficult to prove and victims are often afraid of losing their job, a labour official said.
"We receive very few complaints specifically regarding racism. Such cases are very difficult for the employee to prove. They come with complaints over wages but rarely point to issues of racism as being a cause of why the employer might pay them less than other nationalities," said Umr Khouri, the ministry's legal researcher
There are no specific figures on racial discrimination cases at the Ministry of Labour.
According to Khouri anyone found committing racial discrimination in the predominately UAE national-staffed public sector is immediately fired.
But he says employers in the private sector may exploit the fact that many of their foreign staff value their job more than taking the risk of complaining and potentially being sacked.
"Workers are aware of their rights but are often too scared to complain and risk losing their jobs," he said.
Maria (not her real name) from the Philippines works as a waitress in a well-known Abu Dhabi hotel. Along with her father the 25-year-old is the main breadwinner for her eight brothers and sisters.
She says despite having two years more experience than her recently arrived Romanian colleagues and being fluent in English, she receives up to Dh400 less than them a month.
"My Romanian colleagues receive Dh1,300 a month but even though I have been with the hotel for two years longer than them I receive Dh900. It is blatantly unfair," she says.
Maria is convinced the reason she is paid less is because the hotel management prefers white European staff to serve customers.
She says it has often led to conflicts with her colleagues and rather than lose her job, she has stopped raising the issue.
"I have leant not to complain but to shut up instead," she says.
According to the Labour specialist at the Filipino Embassy, Elena Calingasan, if a Filipino worker was to supply evidence of racial discrimination the embassy would first try to settle the issue with the employer before seeking advice from the Ministry of Labour.
"We encourage them to come forward with their complaints if there is something specific that has happened to them but they must bring all their documentation and as much evidence as they can."
Dr Naeem Zumfuli, a professor at Sharjah University specialising in human resources, said racial discrimination in pay was "a big problem" in the UAE.
"There is a lot of discrimination according to nationality and religion in the labour market, which affects the contribution of those who suffer from it. They feel dissatisfied and this reflects in their work and affects the lives of sometimes large families in the UAE and abroad."
He said there was an underlying modern theory that employment among low-wage earners is more important than quality of life. He added: "The government should interfere more in the private sector to stop this discrimination if they want to continue stability in the labour market. With labour unions, this would be less of a problem."
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