UAE | Employment
Sharjah companies struggle to find homes for workers
The municipality is charging companies registered outside the emirate extra to use labour accommodation, despite an existing shortage of accomodation for Sharjah companies.
- By Bassma Al Jandaly, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:45 February 14, 2008
Sharjah: The municipality is charging companies registered outside the emirate extra to use labour accommodation, despite an existing shortage of accomodation for Sharjah companies.
Sultan Abdullah Al Mualla, Assistant to the Director General for Technical Affairs, told Gulf News that the municipality requires any company which is not registered in Sharjah to give a deposit if they want to rent accommodation there.
"We allow companies to rent a place for their workers here but they have to pay the deposit, which is a guarantee for us in case that company does not abide with our laws," he said.
Al Mualla said that if the company is registered in another emirate, the municipality is not able to apply Sharjah law, which makes it difficult to fine them.
The municipality usually charges two per cent of the rent in addition to the deposit from companies registered in any other emirate.
Meanwhile, companies already based in Sharjah say that they are barely able to find accommodation for their workers.
"We know that there is lack in the number of labour accommodation in Sharjah. We are planning to build one and the project is under study," Al Mualla said.
"We cannot prevent an owner of labour accommodation from renting to any one. It is private property and people are free to rent it to whomever they want," Al Mualla added.
Shaheen, owner of contracting company in Sharjah, said that the authorities should sort out the accommodation problem soon.
"Owners of labour accommodations in Sharjah must be instructed not to rent to companies from outside Sharjah," he said.
Another business owner says he has to house his workers in other emirates.
"It is very difficult to find accommodation for our workers. Our companies are registered and operate in Sharjah but we rent accommodation in Ajman or Umm Al Quwain," he said.
"It is unfair to allow companies from other emirates to rent here while we can not find a place for our workers," he added.
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