US embassy cable - 05DUBAI181

UNCLAS DUBAI 000181 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USTR FOR DOUG BELL AND BUD CLATANOFF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, PGOV, TC 
SUBJECT: DUBAI LABOR SEMINAR STRESSES ILO COMPLIANCE 
 
 
1. (U) Summary: From January 8-10, the UAE Ministry of Labor and 
Social Affairs (MoL) hosted a seminar in Dubai for MoL employees 
entitled "The Role of the Labor Department in the Implementation 
of the International and Arab Labor Standards and Basic 
Principles and Rights at Work."  The purpose of the seminar, 
given to 30 labor inspectors and legal affairs officers, was to 
help them understand how to apply the six core ILO conventions 
the UAEG has signed.  MoL U/S Dr. Khalid Al Khazraji opened the 
seminar by reading a keynote speech by Minister of Labor Dr. Ali 
Al Ka'abi stressing the UAE's intention to adhere to and 
implement international conventions.  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) From January 8-10, the UAE Ministry of Labor and Social 
Affairs (MoL) hosted a seminar in Dubai entitled "The Role of 
the Labor Department in the Implementation of the International 
and Arab Labor Standards and Basic Principles and Rights at 
Work."  Organized in cooperation with the Arab Center for Labor 
Management and Employment in Tunisia, the seminar was attended 
by 30 MoL inspectors and legal affairs officers.  MoL U/S Dr. 
Khalid Al Khazraji opened the seminar by reading a keynote 
speech by Minister of Labor Dr. Ali Al Ka'abi stressing the 
UAE's intention to adhere to and implement international 
conventions.  He noted that the UAE had ratified nine ILO 
conventions, including 6 of the 8 core labor conventions.  He 
stressed that "ratification of international labor conventions 
obligates the country to observe them in national legislation 
and practice.  This puts a huge responsibility on labor 
officials to monitor the UAE's obligations in labor standards." 
 
 
3. (SBU) On January 11, Consul General and PolEconoff met with 
Al Khazraji to get a readout on the seminar.  Al Khazraji said 
the purpose of the seminar was to help the MoL participants 
understand how to apply, in the UAE context, the six ILO core 
conventions that the UAE had signed. Al Khazraji said other 
topics discussed included a comparison of UAE law to ILO 
standards, and a how-to session on writing reports for the ILO. 
 
4. (SBU) The four main presenters at the seminar were two 
experts from the Tunisian Arab Labor Center and two experts from 
the MoL. According to Al Khazraji, the 30 participants were 
mainly young up-and-comers at the MoL. For some it was their 
first exposure to the ILO conventions. Participants especially 
enjoyed the workshop session, when they divided into four 
groups, each of which analyzed how to apply a different ILO 
convention. 
 
5. (SBU) CG asked whether the seminar had dealt at all with the 
labor union law. Al Khazraji said the seminar had not dealt with 
that law, and that in fact that law had not been completely 
drafted yet. Would the new law allow foreign workers to join 
labor unions, CG asked?  Al Khazraji said the UAEG was still 
debating that issue. 
 
6. (SBU) Regarding the recently released statistic that 11,424 
labor complaints involving 16,424 laborers had been lodged with 
the MoL in 2004, Al Khazraji said "the UAE is a vibrant and 
growing market -- this is to be expected."  He said 80 percent 
of the disputes were resolved at the MoL rather than going to 
court. Al Khazraji additionally claimed that workers themselves 
were partially to blame in many cases. "They wait until after 
they haven't been paid for six or seven months before coming to 
us, rather than coming after two or three months," he said. 
 
7. (SBU) Comment:  UAEG officials have told us repeatedly that 
they understand the need to revise their labor law to bring it 
more in compliance with ILO standards.  The issue of allowing 
labor unions is a sensitive one here, but one that the UAEG 
understands must be dealt with as part of FTA negotiations with 
the U.S.  In the meantime, however, the Ministry of Labor 
continues its efforts to better enforce the existing law and to 
comply with the ILO conventions that the UAE is a member of. 
 
This cable was coordinated with Embassy Abu Dhabi. 
 
DAVIS