UAE PUTS A SMILE ON THEIR FACE
A new draft federal law on domestic workers passed by the Federal National Council on Wednesday ensures the following facilities:
Right to a weekly rest day
Work on rest day to be compensated with alternative day of rest
Entitled to 12 hours of rest, including eight hours of continuous break
Entitled to paid annual leave of 30 days each year
Right to sick leave of not more than 30 days a year
Right to keep their documents such as passport
Right to temporary housing until they join an employer
No discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion
Sexual harassment, forced labour or human trafficking banned
Rejected workers entitled to return expenses from recruitment offices
abu dhabi — A draft law protecting the rights of domestic helps got the approval of Federal National Council (FNC) on Wednesday.
The law, approved during an FNC session chaired by Speaker Dr Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi, specified the conditions on recruitment and work of 19 categories of domestic helps.
The legislation regulates all issues and procedures related to the domestic workers, including their recruitment conditions, rights and duties and the conditions imposed on the recruitment offices.
The draft law consists of 41 articles, the most prominent of which is a provision prohibiting the recruitment or employment of any worker under the age of 18 and a ban on non-citizens to act as an intermediary for the recruitment of workers.
The law also states that in the event of the recruitment or temporary employment of workers, the following acts shall be prohibited: > Discrimination between workers in violation of the principle of equality on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion or nationality. > It also bans any kind of sexual harassment of workers, forced labour or human trafficking.
The recruitment office has to make sure that the worker is aware of and agrees to the nature of work and salary. Proofs of the worker’s physical and psychological fitness, professional and other conditions should be verified before bringing the worker from his country. > Workers will have right to keep their official documents, such as passports.
Duties of employer
According to the law, the recruitment office shall be the employer in case of temporary employment. The law requires the recruitment agency to bear the expenses of a non-performing worker returning to the home country. The agency should also provide an alternative to the employer free of cost. Otherwise, the agency should refund all the money received from the employer. Agencies are prohibited from accepting or demanding any commission from the worker in exchange for the job. The agency should not also claim any fees from the worker for medical examination. The law makes agencies liable to provide temporary housing for the workers and must make the workers aware of the customs and traditions of the UAE on their arrival. The law stipulates the labour con- tracts should include the total salary, method of payment, permits allowed for the worker, duration of probation, conditions that might result in the termination of the contract and any other conditions required by the nature of the work. Both the parties — the employer and the employee — should agree to the terms and conditions.
6-month period for firm
The council also approved the definition of the term ‘temporary employment’, whereby the recruitment office employs a worker for the purpose of making the worker’s services available to a third party (the beneficiary). Only UAE citizens licensed as per the law will be allowed to work as intermediary for the recruitment or temporary employment of workers.
The recruitment agencies will be given six months from the date of implementation of this law to settle their conditions in accordance with the provisions of this law. The meeting was attended by Saqr bin Ghobash Saeed Ghobash, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, and Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of State for FNC Affairs.