Dubai: A Tajik delegation recently visited the Ministry of Labour in Dubai to gain a deeper insight into the ministry’s plans to streamline the job market and its control policies to combat human trafficking.
The delegates were also keen to get familiarised with the ministry’s initiatives to streamline and stabilise the market and protect the rights and interests of both employees and employers, and ensure a balanced relationship between them.
Led by Colonel Abdullah Zoda Ahtam, Head of Tajikistan’s Defence and Law Enforcement Department, and Inter-agency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking, the delegation included members from the President’s Executive Office.
Eisa Al Zarouni, Director of the Inspection Department at the ministry, and Ibtisam Al Souqi Director of the International Relations Office at the ministry, received the visiting delegation. They stressed the importance of such visits to promote and strengthen cooperation and relations between the two countries, with a focus on issues related to the labour market, and share expertise in this field.
Salary transfer
The delegation watched a short-film about the wage protection system (WPS) and its importance in stabilising the job market, particularly in the protection of workers’ rights, and ensuring that they receive their monthly salaries through the salary transfer facility.
Al Zarouni highlighted the ministry’s efforts to counter human trafficking by introducing a specialised department that monitors the situation and uncovers any practices or crimes committed against poor workers. He stressed the importance of cooperation between UAE authorities concerned in order to protect workers from any forms of human trafficking.
He also reviewed the types of employment contracts issued by the ministry as well as their documentation mechanisms that support preserving workers’ rights while maintaining a stable relationship with the employer, according to those contracts.
Care units
Houriya Al Zarouni, from the Inspection Department, gave a presentation on the activities of the ministry to educate workers about their rights and duties as stipulated in the UAE labour law. She pointed out that the ministry has set 10 labour care units near labour housing camps across the country, as well as a mobile unit that was developed to reach workers in remote areas. These units provide lectures, special events and recreational activities aimed at educating workers and reporting and dealing with worker’s inquiries and complaints with complete confidentiality.
She also referred to the ministry’s midday break rule during the summer season, which is a huge relief to workers to escape the heat while working in open spaces, adding that this move has gained international recognition.
The Tajik delegation lauded the efforts made by the UAE to stabilise and regulate the job market, especially the protection of the labour and human rights through legislations and policies.
The writer is a trainee at Gulf News.
