Dubai: The Permanent Committee for Labour Affairs in Dubai (PCLA) has assigned a training institute to educate expat workers about their rights and laws. The training will be done in three phases to ensure all workers are covered, officials said on Monday.

The PCLA has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Middle East Training and Development Institution.

Major General Obaid Muhair Bin Surour, chairman of the PCLA said that training workers is very important, especially that the UAE is home to more than 200 nationalities, adding that it is part of the UAE’s strategy and Dubai’s too, to be in line with international rules of protecting human rights.

This, he said, is Phase one or the preliminary phase of this initiative to train workers. The second phase, which will start in 2017 will continue the training efforts, but will continue to be optional, and by 2018, which is the beginning of the third phase, training will be compulsory for every worker in every company in the emirate.

“We will encourage workers to attend these sessions by giving them certificates accredited by the PCLA upon completion of the courses,” Maj Gen Bin Surour said.

These educational courses will ensure that workers will not be subjected to any kind of exploitation, “if they are educated about the country’s laws and what rights they have, employees can ensure they don’t fall victim to mistreatment,” he explained.

The government is keen on protecting workers, he said adding that the PCLA aims to create a healthy work environment and protect the workers’ rights and meets global standards.

The first training session was held on June 13.

The courses are divided into three main subjects; one explains the labour law, the other is on the culture of the country and proper social manners and the third deals with occupational health and safety.

Maj Gen Bin Surour signed the MoU with Dr. Ahmad Al Hashimi, Director of the Middle East Training and Development Institution.

Dr. Al Hashimi said the institute is following the international standards in working with labourers and educating them.

The courses are 45 minutes each and will be held at the workers’ accommodations after 7pm on normal days and before iftar during Ramadan. There will be 200 labourers in each session.

The training programmes are free and are available in English, Arabic and Urdu and will be held five times a week.