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Construction workers strike for second day - The National Newspaper
Construction workers strike for second day
Praveen Menon and Wafa Issa
Last Updated: December 24. 2009 1:40PM UAE / December 24. 2009 9:40AM GMT
DUBAI // Almost 1,000 workers who claim they have not been paid for up to three months continued to strike for a second day yesterday, with many saying they had lost faith in “empty promises” from bosses.
About 900 labourers and 70 staff members and engineers from Robust Contracting Company downed tools on Tuesday and said they would not resume work until they receive their salaries. The company is working at the Green Community project near Dubai Investment Park.
Robust had undertaken to pay the salaries for October within five days following negotiations with Dubai Police on Tuesday, according to Lt Col Sultan al Jamal, the director of the Centre for Monitoring Human Trafficking, which monitors labourers’ working and living conditions.
The Ministry of Labour said on Tuesday it had blocked Robust’s business transactions and referred the company to the Public Prosecution for non-payment of salaries.
Most of the labourers, who earn an average Dh900 (US$154) a month, reached work yesterday morning anticipating their long-awaited salaries might have been credited to their accounts. However, they were bitterly disappointed.
Many said they were fed up with repeated promises from company management that payment was imminent.
“We have no money, no food to eat. We cannot think of working in such circumstances,” one worker said.
An engineer, who claimed that he had not been paid for five months, said he would not return to work until he was paid. “I am sick of the hundreds of empty promises the management has given me. I have a family and I cannot survive in this way anymore,” he said.
“The company owes engineers between Dh80,000 and Dh100,000 each, and with families to support we are currently living on credit cards. Banks are after us as we cannot pay the instalments.”
The engineer, who did not want to be named, said he recently spent two days in custody because he could not pay a cheque.
The strike comes just weeks after the deadline for large companies to enrol in the Wage Protection System (WPS),designed to help the Ministry of Labour keep track of salary transactions.
From this month, any company with more that 100 workers has to be registered with the electronic wage transfer system. Under the system, businesses must choose an agent a bank, money exchange or financial services company through which their workers will be paid.
Smaller companies were given more time to join the scheme. Ministry officials had earlier said the introduction of WPS would eliminate the problem of unpaid salaries and reduce labour disputes. It is not clear whether Robust Contracting is part of WPS.
The company did not respond to queries by The National despite repeated calls to their office. Staff members said they had submitted a complaint signed by about 1,200 people to the Ministry of Labour.
[email protected]
[email protected]
Construction workers strike for second day
Praveen Menon and Wafa Issa
Last Updated: December 24. 2009 1:40PM UAE / December 24. 2009 9:40AM GMT
DUBAI // Almost 1,000 workers who claim they have not been paid for up to three months continued to strike for a second day yesterday, with many saying they had lost faith in “empty promises” from bosses.
About 900 labourers and 70 staff members and engineers from Robust Contracting Company downed tools on Tuesday and said they would not resume work until they receive their salaries. The company is working at the Green Community project near Dubai Investment Park.
Robust had undertaken to pay the salaries for October within five days following negotiations with Dubai Police on Tuesday, according to Lt Col Sultan al Jamal, the director of the Centre for Monitoring Human Trafficking, which monitors labourers’ working and living conditions.
The Ministry of Labour said on Tuesday it had blocked Robust’s business transactions and referred the company to the Public Prosecution for non-payment of salaries.
Most of the labourers, who earn an average Dh900 (US$154) a month, reached work yesterday morning anticipating their long-awaited salaries might have been credited to their accounts. However, they were bitterly disappointed.
Many said they were fed up with repeated promises from company management that payment was imminent.
“We have no money, no food to eat. We cannot think of working in such circumstances,” one worker said.
An engineer, who claimed that he had not been paid for five months, said he would not return to work until he was paid. “I am sick of the hundreds of empty promises the management has given me. I have a family and I cannot survive in this way anymore,” he said.
“The company owes engineers between Dh80,000 and Dh100,000 each, and with families to support we are currently living on credit cards. Banks are after us as we cannot pay the instalments.”
The engineer, who did not want to be named, said he recently spent two days in custody because he could not pay a cheque.
The strike comes just weeks after the deadline for large companies to enrol in the Wage Protection System (WPS),designed to help the Ministry of Labour keep track of salary transactions.
From this month, any company with more that 100 workers has to be registered with the electronic wage transfer system. Under the system, businesses must choose an agent a bank, money exchange or financial services company through which their workers will be paid.
Smaller companies were given more time to join the scheme. Ministry officials had earlier said the introduction of WPS would eliminate the problem of unpaid salaries and reduce labour disputes. It is not clear whether Robust Contracting is part of WPS.
The company did not respond to queries by The National despite repeated calls to their office. Staff members said they had submitted a complaint signed by about 1,200 people to the Ministry of Labour.
[email protected]
[email protected]
