Equal pay for equal work seems to be a myth here - your passport, apparently, holds the key.
S.M. Kumar, an IT engineer, was offered a monthly wage of Dh4,000 while working in his home state of Goa, on the west coast of India. He thought his dream had come true. Dh4,000 meant Rs52,000.
Only when he arrived in the UAE did he realise he had been hoodwinked. His Arab counterpart with the same qualifications, skills and experience was being paid Dh7,000, and his Western colleague still more - Dh10,000.
The comparatively high cost of living, mounting bills and loans back home to be repaid soon took their toll.
Kumar became depressed. He thought he would find succour at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, only to be told that since he had signed the employment contract and accepted what he now regarded as a paltry sum, it was his problem.
"The ministry does not come to an expatriate's aid. However, it would intervene if the salary is unpaid," labour officials told him.
Kumar told them he was desperate. Still, the labour laws could not help him.
"Why should I lose up to Dh72,000 a year to unequal pay policies?" he says.
Srinivas S.M., an Indian accountant, says: "Company owners and general managers are prejudiced against Asians, choosing to hire a worker only if available at a lower wage. Salaries of Asians are 30 to 50 per cent less than those of Arabs, even when performance factors are equal.
"I work for a leading company that has a job description. But value is made on the basis of race and colour, not skills, qualification and experience."
He wonders why labour laws should tolerate such a difference in pay that cannot be explained by objective factors, such as the level of education, the sector of employment and the type of occupation.
"Rules here should provide for equal pay for equal work and guarantee that no discrimination is practised by employers on the basis of race, colour or sex."
Dr Mohammad Abdullah Al Rokn, a senior manager at the International Union of Advocates, says a worker doing the same job or of equal value to the work of another employee should expect to get the same pay irrespective of sex, race or national origin.
"An employer commits racial discrimination when he makes job decisions on the basis of race.
"Unfortunately, UAE laws fall short of protecting workers from pay discrimination or any discriminatory practices by employers if the workers involved accept employment contracts that are binding.
"However, a worker can still sue his employer for pay discrimination on the grounds that the UAE constitution provides for equality before the law without regard to race, nationality or social status. So the constitution prohibits discrimination in every aspect of the employment relationship, including hiring, firing, promotions, job training or any other employment term.
"The court will not guarantee that a worker who was subject to pay discrimination will get a fair salary or is not fired from his or her job. A ruling will just order compensation for any damages inflicted as a result of discrimination."
On whether companies should be forced by law to have standard job classifications and evaluation, Dr Al Rokn says: "Legislation in the UAE has not gone that far. This is too sophisticated for our young country."
Obaid Ebrahim, a UAE businessman, says the principle of equal pay for equal work in the private sector would prevent employers from exploiting workers and ensure low-wage workers have decent living standards. The principle will increase salaries that, in turn, increase purchasing power of workers and force employers to raise efficiency and productivity.
"It would not cause any losses to the economy or companies. On the contrary, fair salaries would attract more nationals into the private sector, which will reduce unemployment among nationals," Ebrahim says.
Another UAE businessman, who did not want to be named, says the country will be the ultimate loser if wages are increased to a fair level or a minimum wage is set. Expatriate workers who send home billions of dirhams annually would be able to send home more.
"Imposing a certain pay policy on private companies may affect the competitiveness of the economy and divert potential investments to somewhere else."
Wages should be left to market forces and a minimum wage may cause job losses, reduce wage rates in sectors not covered by a minimum wage system and reduce on-the-job training.
"An employer discriminates on the basis of national origin when it makes job decisions based on a worker's ancestry, birthplace, culture or linguistics," says Dr Naeem Al Zunfuli, an HR consultant in Dubai.
It is illegal, he says, to place an advertisement for Tagalog-speaking workers or others with certain characteristics.
"Companies that employ workers from one country may be committing discrimination against workers from other countries who have the same qualifications. Like race discrimination, national origin discrimination is often caused by stereotyped thinking. For instance, an employer who refuses to promote employees of Asian origin because he believes they do not work hard or who refuses to hire workers from a certain area is discriminating.
"Even seemingly neutral employment policies may be discriminatory if they have a disproportionate impact on members of a particular race.
"UAE nationals should not be favoured on the job just because they are citizens. They can be granted homes or plots of land, but should not receive unfair treatment on the job, which prejudices against co-workers in a company."
Dr Al Zunfuli suggests that labour laws force firms to adopt standard job descriptions and evaluation systems that ensure equal pay for equal work without discrimination.
"A job evaluation method includes a set of factors that determine the worth of jobs, such as skills, responsibilities, effort and working conditions."
He spoke of the Point Method of job evaluation that defines skill as experience, education and ability; responsibilities as fiscal and supervisory; effort as mental; and physical and working conditions as location, hazards and extremes in environment.
"In this method, each factor is divided into levels or degrees that are then assigned points. Each job is rated using the job evaluation instrument. The points for each factor are collated to form a total point score for the job. Jobs are then grouped by total point scores and assigned to wage or salary grades so that similarly rated jobs are placed in the same wage or salary grade."
He said these criteria, which should be made by experts in economics, accounting, psychology, sociology and manpower among others, should be reviewed every five years to take into account inflation, scarcity of jobs and the cost of living.
Mohammad Al Shaiba, a Dubai legal consultant, says victims of discrimination do not complain because since there are no anti-discrimination laws, the offender is in a more senior position and they fear for their job.
"Victims also hope discriminatory practices will stop. But they do not want to be marked as troublemakers or get into trouble. They may feel a complaint may make matters even worse or that they might be fired. Some victims believe they will not be taken seriously."
Al Shaiba suggests if a worker suspects any discrimination at work, he should keep track of his or her company's employment decisions suspected of being based on race or any other subjective factor. "The worker's concerns should be raised with the HR department. If the company fails to rectify the problem, a worker
