UAE firms told to use grace period to better workers' conditions

Abu Dhabi: The government has made it clear to companies that labourers in the country must be provided proper accommodations within the five-year grace period granted by the Cabinet to employers to improve living conditions of workers.

The grace period, which started last September, is sufficient for employers to move their workers to acceptable accommodations, Saqr Gobash Saeed Gobash, Minister of Labour, said on Tuesday.

The minister has issued instructions regarding the implementation of the Cabinet decision related to the standards guide for workers' accommodation.

The instructions were issued to the joint committee compromising officials from the ministry and the Higher Establishment for Specialised Economic Zones tasked with instituting a mechanism to implement the Cabinet's decision. Gobash urged the committee to step up efforts to set a specified time-table for moving workers from old accommodations to new ones built in keeping with legal standards.

He issued the instructions while visiting workers' accommodations in Al Raha Village and stressed the ministry's keenness to implement the government strategy to regulate the job market and work environment.