DUBAI: Thousands of workers employed by Dubai’s largest construction firm, Arabtec, stayed away from work yesterday to back wage demands, a rare labour protest in the Gulf emirate, where trade unions are banned, staff said.
Most blue collar workers in Gulf countries are migrant labourers hired on a contract basis from South Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, and strikes are uncommon.
Migrant workers in Dubai are often employed at wages that are low by Western standards and housed in dormitory-style accommodation on the outskirts of the city, part of the UAE, a regional business and tourism hub. Two Arabtec employees who asked not to be identified said several thousand workers engaged on various projects did not report for duty yesterday and stayed in their accommodation.
A sub-contractor confirmed the stoppage, saying he had to call back his workers from one Dubai work site after Arabtec labourers failed to show up yesterday.
Asked for comment, an Arabtec spokesperson said: “We are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible, alongside the Ministry of Labour and the Police Authority.” The UAE Labour Ministry told Reuters a team of the ministry’s labour crisis management committee was “closely following the work stoppage by a number of Arabtec’s workers”.
REUTERS
