Labour law violations is criminal offence -The Ministry of Labour U.A.E

The Ministry of Labour yesterday said that any violation of the text of the labour law is a criminal offence that merits punishment starting from suspension of a company's licence and fine to referral to the Public Prosecution.

The ministry acted in response to a complaint by an Asian worker during the Open Day, presided over by Acting Director-General Humaid bin Deemas.

The worker said she was asked to choose either termination of services or reduction of her salary to Dh1,500 from Dh2,500 as promised in her contract.

Bin Deemas told the worker she had the right, in case she refused the cut in her salary, to move to a job elsewhere. The ministry will give her a temporary permit to help find a new job, said the official. The ministry will also ensure the worker's former sponsor is made to give her everything that is hers by right, he added.

UAE only country to pass legislation to give workers a better deal in Mideast

Former U.S President Bill Clinton hailed the progress made by the United Arab Emirates on protecting the rights of expatriate workers, empowering women as well as on clean energy and environmental protection.

Speaking on the situation in the Middle East in a interview with ABC News on April 18th, the current situation in the Middle East, Clinton said the UAE "is the only the only country with huge amounts of imported workers that's actually passed legislation to give these immigrant workers a better deal in the Middle East." "They've got women in the government. They have a joint public-private decision making process," the former U.S president added.

Clinton also noted the UAE's successful bid to host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency, or IRENA, in Abu Dhabi and the emirate's plans to build Masdar City, the world's first carbon neutral city.

"UAE wins the international competition for the clean energy agency. And they're going to build a carbon neutral city in the UAE," he said. – Emirates News Agency, WAM

Kenya moves to resolve visa row with the UAE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 21 - President Mwai Kibaki has now ordered Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula to travel to Dubai and resolve the visa row between the two countries should the mission in Abu Dhabi not sort it out by Friday.

Mr Wetangula assured the country on Wednesday that he was in constant communication with United Arab Emirates officials and was working to have the new requirement for Kenyan visa applicants traveling there to possess degrees scrapped.

The Minister who spent hours in a meeting with the President earlier in the day said that in the last two days he had secured the issuance of pending work permits for Kenyans and renewal of those that had expired.

“I want to give an assurance that Kenyans who work in Dubai are under no threat of losing their jobs. Our mission in Abu Dhabi has been following the matter very successfully,” he said.

The new requirement is a retaliatory move by the United Arab Emirates after Kenyan authorities arrested and deported four of its citizens on suspicion of being terrorists. There were reports that some of the suspects arrested were from a royal family in the UAE.

“I don’t want to call this a crisis as it has been referred. It is an incident borne out of another incident which we have overcome by now and we want to move on into the future,” Mr Wetangula said.

It is estimated that over 36,000 Kenyans work in Dubai in the hospitality and construction industries. Thousands others frequent the free port city on business trips. Since the introduction of the new rules dozens of business people have been denied visas to travel there.

Many Kenyans pass through the country while heading to other parts of the world.The Minister confirmed that in the last two weeks two ministers and dozens of Members of Parliament had also been denied visas.

The business people especially in the textile industry have complained that they are losing millions of shillings in the crisis.

“For the business people who travel regularly I can only give you an assurance that the matter is in the hands of government and our counterparts across the Red Sea are fully committed to a very sound relationship between us.”

New UAE visa regulation for Kenyans

A new visa regulation set by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) requires citizens from Kenya to have at least a bachelor's degree to travel into the Arab country. 

According to the new regulation, even Kenyan transit passengers will be detained at UAE airports if they fail to prove that they have at least a bachelor's degree. 

"It is unfair for the Dubai government to punish all Kenyans over this misunderstanding," the chairman of Parliament's departmental committee on Foreign Relations and Defense, Aden Keynan, said on Tuesday.

"Mr Wetang'ula and his team must be proactive in their dealings with such crucial trade partners so that such hitches do not occur,” he added. 

The UAE's new visa regulation took effect just four days after the UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah al-Nahayan met with Kenya's high-ranking officials, including the Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and the country's Foreign Minister Moses Wetang'ula. 

The exact reasons for the new move are still unknown. However, Mr. Keynan said it was in response to the deportation of UAE nationals touring Kenya. 

About 36,000 Kenyans are currently in Dubai for work and business purposes while others use the Arab state as a transit route to other Middle East countries. 

Qatar's plans to scrap its visa-on-arrival facility for nationals of 33 countries has been delayed

Qatar's plans to scrap its visa-on-arrival facility for nationals of 33 countries has been delayed.The old system will remain in place despite the Gulf state announcing new rules earlier this month which were set to be introduced on May 1.

Under the regulations, the nationals of 33 countries, including the US, UK and expat residents of the GCC, would have to apply for a visa prior to arrival in Qatar.

But media in Qatar reported on Monday that the move had been delayed after Qatar’s Foreign Ministry received requests from some countries to continue with the old system and allow their nationals time before the new entry visa rules are enforced.

According to Qatar News Agency (QNA), a source at the Consular Affairs Section of the Foreign Ministry said that the requests of these countries were being studied.

“It has, therefore, been decided that the existing visa-on-arrival scheme at the Doha International Airport for the citizens of the 33 countries will remain unchanged,” QNA quoted a senior Foreign Ministry official as saying.

The regulations would have meant that all passengers wishing to travel to Qatar for business purposes will need to have their visas arranged by a local sponsor, via the Ministry of Interior.