UAE | General
Ministry of Labour focuses on strengthening inspection department
The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has been always in the spotlight simply because of the broad spectrum of services it offers.
- By duraid Al Baik, UAE Editor
- Published: 00:00 July 6, 2003
 Dr Al Khazraji |
Nearly everyone in the UAE has obtained a service from the ministry in one way or another: whether it is getting a work permit, a labour card or renewing one. The ministry also offers social aid to about 28,000 UAE nationals. Hence, the ministry is judged by the quality of services and its performance is criticised in all these fields.
In an interview with Gulf News, Dr Khalid Al Khazraji, Undersecretary of the ministry, explained the problems they face and presents his plans to solve them.
Gulf News: Some have criticised that the ministry has been playing a passive role regarding regulating and monitoring the market. The ministry has been reluctant in checking employers' adherence to law and orders applied by the ministry. Labour authorities interfere only when the problem becomes so obvious and big, why?
Dr khalid Al Khazraji: I agree with the accusation to a certain extent. We are looking to enhance the capabilities and the manpower of the inspection department at the ministry. The ministry has started the implementation of a long-term programme in order to improve our capabilities in this matter and play a proactive regulatory and monitoring role in the market.
For the past 30 years, the ministry has been focusing on catching up with the pace of development taking place in the country. The nation has been developing at a fast pace that has surpassed the ability of the ministry to control certain aspects.
Over the past several years the ministry has been preoccupied with issuing work permits to cater to the needs of development. Throughout the process, the ministry was forced to forget its basic role of monitoring and organising the labour market.
Most of our employees who were appointed and trained to work in inspection units at the ministry were moved to sections involved in issuing labour permits. This has resulted in the ministry losing its inspection powers to cater to the needs of the market involving issuing visas for more workers.
The ministry was under tremendous pressure from companies and the business community to issue visas fast. The ministry has been evaluated on its efficiency in issuing work permits. No one complained about managing the market. Since he came to the ministry in 1997, Matar Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, has focused on ensuring work permits and labour cards are issued as fast as possible.
The two transactions were our top priorities since I joined the ministry three years ago. We did every possible thing to streamline the process and reduce the time needed to issue labour documents. Papers are processed in a record time.
Today we have reached a point where both transactions, work permits and labour cards, are ready in less than three days. You might remember that just a couple of years ago such transactions used to take weeks and in some cases months.
Strengthening inspection capabilities of the ministry has become our top priority this year.
Are you entering a new phase regarding inspections?
You have put it correctly. We are entering a new phase at the ministry. The phase of efficient inspection, as we like to play a proactive role in organising the labour market in the country.
In order to fulfil our new tasks we have realised that we need to strengthen our inspection section, we need to change the philosophy and the mindset of inspectors and the way the business community looks at them, from being a police force to becoming advisers to the businesses operating in the country.
We have rephrased the job of inspectors to advise, educate labourers and employers, what is required from them in order to implement the clauses of the labour law in a right manner. I think we need to do that at this stage of the development of the country.
After achieving this goal, the ministry can move to monitoring the market and curb offences and breaches of the law. This is our philosophy at this stage and we are very committed to accomplishing our task. However, achieving our new tasks without having proper manpower will not be possible.
To draw a clear picture of our labour inspection capabilities in the country, I would like to mention here that the ministry has nearly 80 inspectors to monitor more than 2.5 million labourers working in nearly 230,000 companies and business organisations operating in the emirates. With such a small number of inspectors we cannot play a proactive role in the market.
In 2002, the ministry recruited 60 inspectors. This year we are in the process of hiring 30 inspectors. Our target for the coming three years is to reach 480 labour inspectors.
In addition to training inspectors to achieve their new tasks, we are fully aware that they require modern equipment to conduct their work such as vehicles, palm computers and laptops with wireless contact with the ministry.
We have convinced the country and the legislative bodies to enhance the power of labour inspectors by giving them the right to issue fines against different violations of the labour law. This right has been included in the amendment proposed to the labour law which has been approved by the Edict and Legislation Authority in the emirates.
With the enforcement of the new labour law, an inspector will have the right to issue a ticket if sees something wrong taking place at a workplace. This did not exist before and had weakened the power and the authority of inspectors.
I always thought that labour inspectors were respected and taken seriously by employers. The news of their surprise visits to one business on the street spreads to the neighbouring businesses to hide offences. Illegal workers run away from the place for the period the inspectors stay in the area.
Why do you think that strengthening their authority is needed to implement their new advisory and consultancy tasks?
We are trying to move towards playing an advisory role. However, we realise that illegal workers and employers who break the laws worry when inspectors come visiting, but everything goes back to the way it used to be the moment the inspectors leave.
And why does this happen? I think because there were no financial penalties imposed by the inspectors. I think that the right of imposing fines by labour inspectors will help the enforcement of the labour law.
Have you set up the structure of penalties to be imposed for specific violations of the labour law?
Not yet. We are waiting for the endorsement of the fines clause in the labour law by the Cabinet. The Edict and Legislation Authority has already approved in principle the clauses relating to the imposition of fines for violation of the labour law last week and we are waiting for the approval of the Cabinet shortly.
This leads me to the question of what happened to the amendments proposed to other clauses in the labo
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