The leaders and government of the UAE have, over these past 46 years, enacted a series of legislations and a body of laws that have enabled the continued economic growth and march of progress of the nation and its people. Now, in this post-oil era, there is a need for our continued prosperity to be based on a wider range of economic drivers, enhancing the potential offered across divergent and technologically diverse sectors of our nation.
The challenges we face need to be met head on, with innovative thinking and resolute determination — and the laws of the nation need to go hand-in-hand with our progress and continued development. That’s why the UAE Labour Law is to be changed to live up to the ambitions of the nation’s leadership, all the nation’s citizens and the key private sector as our economy diversifies away from our one-time dependence on our oil and energy reserves.
Earlier last week, Nasser Bin Thani Al Hameli, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, outlined a new framework for the UAE Labour Law to the Federal National Council. While he did not offer a time frame, the changes will address the new challenges we face together. Key to this is achieving government targets for Emiratisation, with 50 per cent of the Emirati workforce to be employed in the private sector, and Emiratis are to account for 5 per cent of the private sector workforce, and 6 per cent of the total UAE workforce by then. To facilitate this, the government has identified 400 selected professions in 2,000 private companies that will give priority to Emiratis when hiring.
The targets outlined by Minister Al Hameli are both realistic and attainable, and the statistics now clearly show that progress is being made to diversify the private sector and ensure every Emirati can have meaningful and productive work. This year alone, some 15,000 jobs suitable for Emiratis are to be created in strategic economic sectors. In 2017, statistics showed that there were nearly 7,000 Emiratis employed in the private sector, and that represented an increase of some 22 per cent over the previous year, when records showed there were 5,608 citizens in the private sector then.
Clearly, the long-anticipated goal of greater Emiratisation is now bearing fruit. Yes, there are still challenges — the disparity between the public and private sectors over the holidays remains a long-standing bugbear to be addressed — but the 2021 goal is on track.
