UAE | Employment
Workers deported for demanding salary hike
Two dozen construction workers who had protested over wage hike were deported yesterday for refusing to go back to work.
- By Wafa Issa, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:15 August 2, 2007
Dubai: Two dozen construction workers who had protested over wage hike were deported yesterday for refusing to go back to work.
Around 500 workers of a construction company had begun their protest at their accommodation in Sonapur late last month demanding a wage hike of Dh300.
The current salary for the workers is between Dh500 and Dh700.
Some 24 workers have been deported.
Maher Al Obaid, head of the investigation unit at the Ministry of Labour, told Gulf News the majority of the workers agreed to go back to work yesterday.
"Some 120 workers demanded that they should be given a salary increase or their work permit be cancelled. After deportation of the first batch of workers, many of them decided to go back to work," he said.
The company had earlier agreed to give the workers a Dh50 salary increase.
"The management's decision of an increment was made before the workers staged the protest and is not a consequence of the protest," said Al Obaid.
Workers must understand that to protest for a salary increase is a violation of the law and is counterproductive, he added.
Around 600 workers of another company who had stopped working last Monday over deduction of food allowance from their salaries continued their protest for the third consecutive day yesterday.
They are protesting over the deduction of Dh210. Their current salary is about Dh470.
No cooking facility
The workers were transferred from the Sharjah accommodation to the Jebel Ali accommodation. As the new workers' accommodation does not have cooking facilities and cooking is not allowed inside the premises, the firm decided to provide catering services and deduct the food allowance, according to Al Obaid.
"Nothing has been resolved, specially since the workers demand has increased and they want to shift back to their previous accommodation and want a salary increase," he said.
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