Companies split over decision

Dubai: The move to replace expatriate human resources managers and secretarial personnel with UAE nationals provoked a wide range of reactions on Sunday.

Some companies praised the decision but others admitted that they did not have immediate plans for current staff.

The Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) spokesperson, Khalid Hadi, said that within his own department there was already 67 per cent national employees, including the group deputy human resources manager.

"This is wonderful news and I would say that it is definitely manageable within the 18 month period. Within Enoc we are already supporting this initiative, especially for entry level positions."

Head of Corporate Communications for Al Futtaim Group, Nawfal Jourani, said, "The Al Futtaim Group is one of the biggest supporters of the Emiratisation drive?we strongly believe in the UAE nationals as a resource," he said.

According to Sonja Trapmann, Public Relations Manager for Al Habtoor Group, it is still too early to gauge the long-term impact of the decision, however she indicated that the group was fully supportive.

Sudhir Kumar, a former manager of an IT company, predicted "a lot of people" would be made redundant as a result of the new rules. However, he said he did not expect that all companies would end up following the rules exactly as they have been announced.

"There will have to be a lot of refining and working out to see how these rules work," he said.