No work permits should be issued to waitresses in men-only cafes, says FNC member
Working night shift may harm women’s health, compromise virtue, FNC member says
Abu Dhabi: A member of the Federal National Council demanded no work permits be issued to waitresses in men-only shisha cafes.
Sultan Juma Al Shamsi, a member from Ajman, argued women should not work the night shift in men-only shisha cafes and should not take up any other hazardous or arduous jobs as per the UAE laws.
Al Shamsi said night-time work might compromise women’s virtue and questioned the Labour Ministry’s role in enforcing these rules.
Saqr Gobash Saeed Gobash, Minister of Labour, told the House, as a general rule, night-time work is prohibited for women in the UAE. Night time is defined as the period between 10pm and 7am. However, there are exceptions to this rule. Night work may be allowed if it is indispensable for technical or economic reasons such as health services, technical posts and other jobs as specified by the Labour Minister.
Gobash said a ministerial resolution allowed women to work night shifts in hotels, restaurants, cafes, cinema and music theatres as well as similar jobs.
“No women shall be employed in any job that is dangerous, arduous or detrimental to health or morals or on any other operations specified by the Minister of Labour,” according to the UAE’s Labour Law.
The minister said only 25,600 women out of nearly 4.5 million workers are allowed to work in cafes and restaurants.
He added that more than 6,800 visits were made to companies which recruit women and youngsters over the last three years. Only 90 violations were spotted in 2013 and 46 offences last year.
Al Shamsi demanded a proposal be submitted to the Government so that no women may be allowed to work in men-only cafes and that work permits for this purpose be banned.
Night shift work has been consistently associated with higher risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer. In 2007 the World Health Organisation classified night shift work as a probable carcinogen due to circadian disruption. In a study in the current issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers found that women working rotating night shifts for five or more years appeared to have a modest increase in all-cause and CVD mortality and those working 15 or more years of rotating night shift work appeared to have a modest increase in lung cancer mortality.
