Abu Dhabi: Members of the Federal National Council on Tuesday said they wanted the government to explain why a number of crucial reforms to social security laws passed by the House have not been implemented.
Marwan Bin Galita, a member from Dubai, said it took the government more than a year to tell the House extending assistance to unemployed Emiratis needs further study.
“The government did not bother to set a time-frame for implementation. This slow reaction is unacceptable and we demand a time-frame for study of our recommendations,” Bin Galita said.
The Cabinet has postponed a recommendation presented by the FNC to extend financial assistance to out-of-work Emiratis for further in-depth study.
A letter submitted by Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash, Minister of State for FNC Affairs, to the House said that the Cabinet had also postponed a decision on calls for the country’s social security policy to be linked with the economic changes and social development, adding new categories to beneficiaries of social assistance and for an increase of 20 per cent in social security grants for the beneficiaries.
Ahmad Al Shamsi, a member from Ajman, echoed the same sentiments and said these were “crucial recommendations especially as they address the problem of unemployed Emiratis”.
The call to provide assistance to unemployed Emiratis was turned down last year by Mariam Al Roumi, Minister of Social Affairs, who told the House the ministry’s role was to provide “social help” and not “social security”.
Khalifa Nasser Al Suwaidi, a member from Abu Dhabi, said extending this assistance might prompt finding a solution to the problem of unemployment among citizens.
Monthly assistance is currently being provided to a total of 10,179 Emirati beneficiaries, including widows, divorcees, the disabled, elderly, orphans, medically unfit persons, families of prisoners, financially deprived, abandoned women, and women married to expatriate husbands who cannot earn a living for reasons beyond their control, among other categories, said the Ministry of Social Affairs
Ahmad Al Za’abi, a member from Sharjah, asked if that was how the Government handled recommendations presented more than a year ago, what about other motions. “This gives the impression that the Government will take no action in the near future about any important issues.”
A report submitted by the House last year called for the country’s social security policy to be linked with economic changes and social development.
According to the report the Social Security Federal Law No 2 of 2001 should be amended to keep pace with social and economic changes over the years and to help address the changing demands and requirements of deserving beneficiaries.
It proposed that the law needed to cover new categories, including unmarried daughters, married students and divorced people under the age of 35 if conditions are met, to benefit from grants and other social support facilities.
It also called for the immediate implementation of the directive of the head of the state calling for an increase of 20 per cent in social security grant for the beneficiaries.
The Cabinet, however, passed a recommendation to expand the Ministry of Social Affairs’ services to the beneficiaries by exempting them from the fees and tariffs imposed by government departments for services and transactions, an FNC ad-hoc committee advised.
Hamad Al Rahoumi, a member from Dubai, said the Cabinet just approved less important recommendations and turned down extremely important motions.
The Cabinet also approved a proposal for the creation of a database of the information shared between the ministry and authorities concerned, including the statistics, studies and annual reports issued by government agencies and other stakeholders in the country.
The Cabinet passed a motion to enhance teamwork by various government agencies, the ministry and the private sector to provide better services to the beneficiaries and give them jobs, particularly those with special needs.
The Cabinet also approved calls to help increase the number of rehabilitation centres and support social workers with necessary training opportunities to develop their knowledge and abilities so that they can participate better in the development of the social security policy.
