Mumbai:
The United Arab Emirates government will introduce a minimum
wage structure for foreign workers, beginning with the
construction industry, with a view to better their living
conditions.
"The country is engaged in a major and multi-faceted
campaign to improve the conditions of expatriate labour
in the country," UAE's minister of labour, Ali Abdullah
Al Ka'abi, said.
"The campaign, launched on the instructions of vice
president and prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
Al Maktoum, was designed to tackle many of the problems
currently faced by the labour force," he said, adding,
"These included health and safety concerns, the poor
quality of accommodation, irregular payment of salaries
by companies etc."
The new labour law, currently being drafted, stipulates
the implementation of a minimum wage structure that would
require only a proposal from the minister of labour and
approval by the prime minister, against the conventional
procedure of issuing a federal decree.
The ministry is also studying the possibility of introducing
government-run recruitment agencies to regularise and
rationalise the procedures for recruitment and to make
it possible to eliminate irregularities at the UAE end
of the recruitment process, the minister added.
The minister was among a high-level delegation led by
UAE vice-president and prime minister Sheikh Mohammed
bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which is on a two-day visit to
the country.
Sheikh Mohammed, accompanied by seven ministers and a
high-level business delegation, is visiting India on the
invitation of prime minister Manmohan Singh.
Several economic and bilateral accords are likely to be
signed during the delegation's two-day visit to the country.
During the visit, the two countries are expected to sign
a double taxation protocol. A double taxation agreement
already exists between the two countries.
A visa avoidance agreement on government officials holding
diplomatic passports of the two countries will also be
signed to facilitate mutual visits.
Other agreements to be signed include those on customs
cooperation, exchange of prisoners between the two countries
(an extradition agreement already exists), on combating
international terrorism, money laundering and other crimes.
Shaikh Mohammed, also ruler of Dubai, who took over as
UAE
prime minister in January 2006, last visited India in
1974 as UAE defence minister accompanying his father,
the late Shaikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
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