In a bid to ensure decent working and living conditions
for a population that outnumbers family members in nearly a quarter of Emirati
families, a new draft law seeks to regulate the domestic worker industry in
line with international standards.
The draft law aligns the UAE's rules with the
International Labour Organisation's Convention 189 and Recommendation 201 on
Decent Work for Domestic Workers, which was ratified by the UAE last year.
The bill, approved by the UAE Cabinet in January, must
now be passed by the Federal National Council and signed into law by President
His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
According to a copy of the bill, domestic workers should
receive a written contract of employment and end-of-service gratuity.
Significantly, the bill makes it incumbent on the employer to pay recruitment
agency fees. It also guarantees payment in cash at least once a month and at
least one weekly day off.
There are around 750,000 domestic workers in the UAE,
making up nearly 20 per cent of the expatriate workforce, according to the
Ministry of Interior's statistics at the end of 2007. As many as 65 per cent of
them are based in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. They outnumber family members
in 22 per cent of Emirati families.
In a Twitter post, immediately after the Cabinet approved
the draft law, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said: "We
have approved a new draft law for domestic workers in the UAE. The new law
shall protect the rights of both workers and employers."
The law promotes decent work for domestic workers,
including social protection and access to specialised tribunals at the Interior
Ministry and courts. It sets 18 years as a minimum age for a domestic worker,
which is consistent with international rules on elimination of child labour.
Placement agencies have to ensure that domestic workers
are informed of their terms and conditions of employment, such as the nature of
work, the usual workplace, the remuneration and the period of daily and weekly
rest as set out by the executive regulations, before crossing national borders.
Obligations
According to the law, a model contract accredited by the
Ministry of Interior will be signed by the employer and the employment agency,
setting out job description and qualifications of the worker as well as obligations
of the employer, mainly the nature of the work and the remuneration.
This contract will also provide for financial obligations
towards the worker travelling to the UAE, fees of the agent and the period
required to bring in the employee.
If the agent fails to honour the obligations set out in
the contract, the employer shall have the right to decide against offering the
job to the worker. The agent will then bear the cost of sending the worker to
his/herhome country.
The employer also has the right to claim compensation for
any inconvenience caused by the agent's failure to meet the contract's terms.
The employer has to sign a model contract accredited by
the Ministry of Interior with the domestic worker, with copies being delivered
to the worker, the employer and the Ministry of Interior.
Arabic shall be the language of the contract. Where a
foreign language is used in addition to Arabic, the Arabic version shall be
regarded as authoritative.
Duration
The contract, which can extend to no more than two years
and is renewable for similar periods, shall more particularly specify the date
of its conclusion, the date on which work is to begin, type of the work and
workplace, duration of the contract, the remuneration and how it is paid as
well as any other terms required by the nature of the work.
According to the most recent global and regional
estimates produced by the ILO, at least 52.6 million women and men above the
age of 15 were domestic workers.
This figure represents some 3.6 per cent of global wage
employment. Women comprise the overwhelming majority of domestic workers, 43.6
million or some 83 per cent of the total. Domestic work is an important source
of wage employment for women, accounting for 7.5 per cent of women employees
worldwide.
The law sets one year as the time-limit for different
lawsuits within which an aggrieved person can approach the court for redress or
justice.
A domestic worker, the law states, may be engaged on
probation for six months, during which his or her service may be terminated by
the employer with the placement agency bearing the cost of sending the worker
home if necessary.
The placement agent has to repay all fees if the contract
is revoked of the worker's own will, because of the worker or because agreed
terms of the employment contract are not honoured.
But a worker shall not be put on probation more than once
in the service of any employer, unless the two parties agree to engage the
worker in a different job.
To address abusive practices in respect of payment of
wages, the law lays down a number of principles with regard to the protection
of remuneration.
Payment
Remuneration, which has to be communicated to the worker
and agreed by him or her before travelling to the UAE, has to be paid no later
than the 10th of the following month and a receipt is signed upon every
payment.
No amount of money may be deducted from a worker's salary
or end of service gratuity except for a debt payable in execution of a court
ruling or repair of any damage caused by the worker, provided that the
deduction shall not exceed a quarter of the worker's salary. If a dispute
arises, it has to be settled by the special tribunals at the Ministry of
Interior or be referred to the court.
Violators will face full force of the law
Violators of the law will receive tough penalties
including prison terms and hefty fines.
A worker who
fails to keep in confidence secrets of his employer even after the term of
employment shall receive a prison term of up to six months, a fine of up to
Dh100,000 or both.
Those who
encourage a domestic worker to quit his job or offer shelter to him or her or
stop law enforcement officers from doing their job shall receive the same penalty
and the court may also order deportation after the prison term is served.
Placement
agencies which break the law shall be punished with a fine of up to Dh100,000
and recurrence of the offence will multiply the fine.
An employer who
asks a domestic worker to do a job that is not within the scope of duties
indicated to perform in the contract shall receive a fine of up to Dh5,000,
which will also be applicable to the worker and the employer who fail to report
the employee's absence from work to the police within 48 hours.
Cases filed by
workers under this law shall be exempt from court fees at all stages of
litigation and shall be heard in an expeditious manner.
Placement
agencies of domestic workers have to adjust their legal status within a year
from the date this law takes effect.
Categories of domestic workers
The new
professions under the domestic helpers' category are (only for households, not
companies): Housemaid, imam, private sailor, watchman and security guard,
household shepherd, family chauffeur, household horse groomer, household falcon
carer and trainer, domestic labourer, housekeeper, private coach, private
teacher, babysitter, household farmer, private nurse, private PRO, private
agriculture engineer.
The existing
professions under domestic helpers category: Maid, household farmer and family
chauffeur.
Legal assurance: Rights and responsibilities
Once the law is issued, a domestic worker will be
entitled to the following benefits in terms of leave:
A weekly day
off with full pay. Where circumstances require an employee to work on this day,
he or she will be granted a day in lieu or receive its payment. The regulations
will set out working hours and rest breaks for every type of job.
A paid annual
leave of 14 days, with any other holidays or days of absence from work on
account of sickness reckoned as part of the annual leave, if such holidays fall
within it. The annual leave can be carried forward to the following year and
the employer has to grant a return ticket to the worker to travel home every
two years. Payment for the annual leave and the travel allowance can be paid in
cash to the worker who opts not to travel home.
A domestic worker shall enjoy sick leave of
up to 30 days a year and such leave shall be calculated as follows: the first
15 days with full pay, while the next 15 days will be without pay.
Employment conditions
Effective
protection against all forms of abuse, harassment and violence and workers
should also be provided with decent living conditions that respect their
privacy.
The right to
revoke the contract on one's own if the employer fails to honour his or her
obligations.
Obligations of the
employer shall include all terms and conditions as set out in the contract in
addition to ensuring the work environment, tools and equipment are safe for the
workers, who shall also be provided with proper accommodation, clothing and
food, medical care, good treatment, respect and dignity, and physical safety.
An employer may
not engage a domestic worker in any work with a third party unless legal terms
are met and consent of the Ministry of Interior is obtained. The employer has
to pay compensation for any occupational injuries or diseases the worker may
contract.
Worker's duties
A domestic
worker shall honour all obligations set out in the contract, in addition to
performing duties in person and in keeping with instructions of the employer. The
employee has to exercise due care in performing his or her duties and may not
be absent from work without a valid reason. The worker has to respect customs
and traditions of the society and public norms.
Orders of
employees have to be met unless these orders are not within the scope of the
duties the worker had undertaken to perform in the job contract, are in
violation of the law or public order, endanger the worker's safety or hold him
or her accountable.
The worker has
to exercise due care to preserve the employer's private properties, tools and
equipment and must not use these equipment outside the workplace, unless the
employer's consent is obtained.
The employee
shall also keep in confidence the employer's secrets during and after the term
of employment.
Mutually binding rules
- Both employers and employees are bound to report a
worker's absence from work to the nearest police station within 48 hours of it
coming to light.
- The law makes it mandatory for both the employer and
the employee to follow occupational health and safety regulations at all times.
Legal issues and disputes
Inspectors may
not enter the workplace or the worker's accommodation without permission or
warrant from the prosecutor and unless a complaint is filed against the worker
or the employer or in the event there is reasonable evidence that the law and
executive regulations have been breached.
The Minister of
Interior will grant powers to law enforcement officers, who will ensure law and
regulations are enforced effectively, arrest violators, inspect placement
agencies and workplaces and accommodations in keeping with the law.
If a dispute
arises between the worker and the employer, they must refer it to the Ministry
of Interior's specialised tribunals, which will exercise due care to help
settle it amicably or refer it to the court.
Entitlements
At the end of
the contract, the employer has to settle all the worker's dues within ten days
and, in the case of the worker's death, the employer has to repatriate the body
to the worker's home country.
A worker who
completes at least a year of service will be entitled to an end of service
gratuity amounting to one month's salary for each year of service.
The employee
shall forfeit entitlement to severance pay if he or she is absent from work for
more than 30 consecutive days.
Contract violations
Either the
worker or the employer may revoke a contract of their own will if the other
party fails to meet his or her obligations as set out in the contract and the
law.
If the contract
is terminated by the employer, he shall provide the worker with an air ticket
to travel home, a month's remuneration as a compensation and any other dues,
while the worker will bear the cost of travelling home if the contract is ended
because of the worker or of his own will.
A worker will
have his or her salary suspended if he or she is detained after a complaint is
filed by the employer but once investigation is shelved or a final ruling is
issued acquitting the worker, the wage of the entire period has to be paid.
However, if the worker is incriminated, the worker will forfeit his
remuneration for that period.
If a complaint
is filed against the worker by a third party and the worker is acquitted, that
party will have to pay the remuneration of the worker during the detention.
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