UAE | Government
Student work scheme gets the nod
Shaikh Mohammad approves initiatives to address demographic imbalance in the UAE.
- By Samir Salama, Associate Editor
- Published: 23:54 September 1, 2008
Abu Dhabi: Allowing expatriate students to take up part-time jobs and adopting advanced construction systems to reduce dependence on foreign labourers are among a number of initiatives approved to address the imbalance in the population structure, a top official said on Monday.
"His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved a number of policies submitted by the National Authority for Demographic Structure," said Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Interior and chairman of the authority.
Under the new policies, expatriate students will be allowed to take up part-time jobs and a committee will be formed to moot new construction techniques to replace traditional, labour-intensive systems, Shaikh Saif said in a statement issued yesterday.
Shaikh Saif said the government is making serious efforts to address demographic issues and to strike a balance between requirements of development and the national interest and "our right to a safe and promising future which embodies the vision of our leadership and ambitions of the Cabinet."
The National Authority for Demographic Structure, set up in mid-May, is tasked with "implementing demographic policies in line with the directives of the Cabinet".
In another initiative approved by the Cabinet, companies will be rated as per an ABC scale based on their compliance with labour rules and recruitment of different nationalities.
Under the rating system, which will be implemented by the Ministry of Labour, companies which abide by the rules are to be accorded privileged treatment and reduced fees for their transactions at the ministry.
The Cabinet also approved the setting up a technical committee headed by a representative from the government and comprising members from major real estate developers to suggest new building techniques to replace labour-intensive systems currently in use.
The Minister of Economy in his capacity as chairman of the Standardisation and Metrology Authority was tasked with following up implementation of systems approved as per such deliberations.
The construction industry employs some 1.5 million workers.
The demographic structure authority recommended that such workers could be replaced by making allowance for advanced building systems.
The Cabinet also approved another initiative under which the Energy Ministry and the Interior Ministry will encourage the setting up self-service petrol stations to "dispense with gas attendants and some other marginal jobs".
Annual reports on results of these initiatives will be submitted to the authority, which will submit the same to the Cabinet.
Dr Anwar Gargash, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, said that bylaws that would govern the functioning of the National Demographic Authority as well as its relationship with other federal and local departments and ministries had been worked out.
"Other initiatives are being considered by the authority and these will be submitted to the Cabinet shortly,' said Rashid Al Nuaimi, the authority's special adviser.
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