There's something fishy about the labour protests

Lately, the local media has taken an increasing interest in highlighting labour issues which are wildly exaggerated for nefarious reasons.

This can be judged from the malicious language used by the local press in reporting such issues.

This obviously shows that such reports are being written in bad faith by twisting facts and to portray the UAE in a poor light.

Even though the facts point out that media reports have deliberately exaggerated the issue, there are some violations committed by private companies, such as the delay or non-payment of salaries.

The government, which does not infringe on the workers' rights, has nothing to do with these violations. This is because the UAE is a state of law and institutions, where justice prevails.

The concerned authorities deal with errant companies firmly and strictly. Severe penalties are handed to companies which are found violating workers' rights.

Yet these violations are mere individual practices which may occur anywhere in the world.

Having a brief report on the number of labour lawsuits before any American or European court will give us proof that labour disputes happen everywhere and the UAE is no exception.

The bad faith behind the exaggeration of the labour issue is obvious and can clearly be perceived.

For instance, the coincidence of publishing labour violation reports in the local and Western press does not need unusual intelligence to smell the fishy aims behind this organised campaign against the UAE.

Anyone who was following this malicious media campaign might have noticed that it all started with a labour dispute report published in an English daily newspaper on February 22.

On February 27, the Associated Press (AP) was the first international news agency to carry a report on labour violations in the UAE.

The Washington Post also carried the same allegations one day after the AP's report, to be followed by newspapers, including the Independent and the Times.

In reaction to these reports, the labour minister strongly denied the outrageous accusations and defended the UAE's full commitment to labour rights.

Reached its peak

The campaign reached its peak on March 6 after the Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a report accusing the UAE of violating the rights of expatriate workers.

Following the HRW report, more than 100 reports and articles ?full of lies and baseless allegations against the UAE? were published in newspapers around the world.

The most recent of these came in an interpolated report by The Observer. It was full of lies and malicious news.

There is no difference between the western media's malicious campaign and acts of sabotage committed by workers during their recent protests. They both caused damage to the UAE.

Lately, a large number of workers have taken part in a riotous protest, blocking traffic and committing acts of sabotage on the pretext of becoming tired of traffic jams that make them spend more than one hour on the roads.

This protest alone caused the country millions of dirhams in damage.

What is the government supposed to do in this case?

Is it required to stop the traffic movement in order to enable those workers to reach their workplaces and construction sites quickly?

The fact is, not only the workers but everyone suffers because of the daily bottlenecks in the streets of Dubai. But the question is on the day of the protest how did a huge number of workers manage to gather in a short time?

It seems that there is an organised section of workers which is deliberately provoking other fellow workers to protest even though their demands can be met through other means.

There are many signs that such protests are deliberately organised by certain workers (masterminds) who provoke fellow workers to protest, and at the same time call the newspapers and photographers to inform them.

The issue became very sensitive after it reached a level that would threaten the reputation of the UAE.

It is very important for the UAE to resolve such a sensitive issue. This can only be done by opening up the media, frankness, disclosure and transparency.

The UAE, which opened the door of livelihood wide for millions of expatriate workers has got nothing to hide. There is no country in the world that welcomes foreign workers the way the UAE does.

Rashid Saleh Al Oraimi is a UAE-based columnist for Al Ittihad newspaper.