ABU DHABI: Scores of expat men working in groceries, laundries and vegetable and fruit shops in Abu Dhabi are being denied weekly offs and over-time benefits, XPRESS has learnt.
They are forced to work seven days a week, 365 days a year without any overtime benefits, which is in gross violation of the UAE labour laws.
Many workers who spoke to XPRESS said they work 12 to 14 hours a day, even on Fridays, but do not get paid for overtime.
“I have not had a single holiday for the last one and a half years. I was working even on Eid,” said Kabir, a grocery sales boy from India.
Kabir, from the South Indian state of Kerala, is paid Dh1,100 a month. He says his employer does not heed to his requests for a weekly off.
“I am the only delivery boy at this store. My boss says if I take leave on Friday, that will affect the business badly,” said Kabir.
Slogging it out
Interviews with scores of men working in Baqalas (groceries), vegetable and fruit shops, restaurants, cafeterias and laundry shops in the city reveal that most workers are overworked and underpaid.
Most of the men are expatriates from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. They earn monthly salaries in the range of Dh1000 to Dh1400.
“Last year, the grocery shops got revamped. The owner is making more money and residents are getting a better service. Only we stand to lose,” said a grocery worker named Afsal.
The Indian in his early 20s said he has been working every single day since he came to the UAE two years ago. “I start work at 9am by cleaning and stacking up milk and other daily products. I hardly get a lunch break and I eat in the store itself. Most days, I am on duty till we close the store at 12. I can leave by 10 only on Fridays,” said Afsal who earns Dh1200 a month.
“I would really like to go and watch a movie with my friends or hang out in the shopping malls. But it is not in my fate,” said 26 year old Usman (name changed on request), another delivery boy who works for a vegetable and fruit shop in the Tourist Club area.
He said his employer threatens to send him back home when he asks for an overtime pay.
When XPRESS asked a few grocery owners about the salary structure and working hours of their employees, many retorted saying they follow UAE labour rules. “I have two delivery boys, and I pay them Dh1200 a month plus accommodation. We cannot afford to give them an off on Friday because it is a busy day in the shop,” said an Indian grocery owner who did not want to be named.
Another grocery owner, also from India, said he had to pump in more than Dh80,000 to refurbish his grocery last year. “I myself have not taken an off for more than a year now. We also have to support our families despite our financial liabilities,” said the man.
Article 7 explained
Article 7 of the UAE Labour Law stipulates, If the employee has to work on Friday, he shall be given another day for rest during the week as a substitution or be paid a basic wage plus a minimum of 50% of that wage. If the nature of the job requires overtime, the employee shall be paid overtime and the payment shall be equivalent to the wage paid for the ordinary working hours plus an increase of not less than 25% of his wage for the overtime period.
