Police initiative benefits workers who did not receive their wages

Dubai: An initiative to ensure that workers in Dubai are paid their wages without default has yielded good results as more than Dh86 million in unpaid wages was recovered by the Dubai Police in 2011.

The initiative has benefited thousands of workers in the emirate, according to the police. Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai Police Chief, said that labour disputes are considered a security priority by the police.

The initiative by Dubai Police was assigned to the Temporary Workers Welfare Monitoring Department, which is affiliated to the Centre for Monitoring Human Trafficking Crimes.

As a result, the total delayed wages paid in 2011 reached Dh86,388,621.

Last year, the rate of labour dispute cases leading to strikes showed a steady decline by nearly 40 per cent. The major part of these cases were related to unpaid wages with 48 per cent of all protests, while the claims for salary increments ranked second with 38 per cent, and failure to pay over time attributed to 4 per cent of work stoppages.

Arbitrary measures by employers, bad treatment, salary deduction, visa cancellation and similar acts also resulted in work stoppages, the police said.