Common driving licence syatem for all GCC

The GCC countries have agreed to a common driving licence system at a conference that took place Sunday in Abu Dhabi.

The three-day conference of directors of traffic departments from the GCC countries is being held to address common challenges, policies and procedures related to traffic issues.

"The UAE presented a proposal for a unified driving licence system. An agreement was reached to implement the suggestion of having a common driving licence for vehicles, including motorcycles, construction vehicles and private cars," Gaith Al Za'abi, director-general of traffic coordination at the Ministry of Interior, said.

"Further discussions will address other types of vehicles, including age and other relevant issues," Al Za'abi added.

The conference will also talk about the possibility of implementing a suggestion made by Oman for a unified form for driving licences containing sufficient background and security information to minimise fraud. "The agreed to procedures will be sent to the ministries of interior for a final approval," he said.

The UAE has also presented a proposal for an electronic web service or an electronic gate that links traffic data across the GCC countries.

"Some 70 per cent of the traffic exchange data among the GCC countries is related to fines. The e-gate will make this data exchange easier and accessible to the public. GCC residents can check online and pay traffic fines committed in any other country," Al Za'abi said.

Success rate

The directors agreed to hold the "GCC Traffic Week" at the same time yearly. They also assessed the success rate of previous traffic campaigns and agreed to maintain the successful ones. In the UAE the Emirates ID will soon be linked to the traffic department as well as the immigration and naturalisation department.

"With this linkage renewing residency means having to pay all outstanding fines or vehicle related fees such as registration, insurance, renting etc," Brigadier Hussain Al Harthy, director of traffic and patrols at Abu Dhabi Police, said.

Enforcing the speed limit helped reduce traffic accidents, according to Al Harthy. "Our procedures have helped reduce fatalities to 10 per 100,000 residents," Al Harthy said.

Worker wins damages against firm

Company ordered to pay employee Dh111,000 for lost job.

An Abu Dhabi court of cassation ordered a local company to pay Dh111,000 in damages for an employee after it failed to respect its work offer for him, resulting in the loss of his previous job, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

The worker told court that he had resigned from his job at another company after receiving a job offer from the new employers, who also committed to issuing him a new visa and a labour card, Emirat Alyoum Arabic language daily said.

After he quit his first job and cancelled his visa, he was told by the new company that the offer to start his new job in October 2008 had been cancelled because of the global financial crisis, the paper said.

His lawyer told court that the company’s action resulted in the loss of his client’s job and his health insurance, adding that this has had adverse social and psychological effects on him.

The court upheld previous sentences by two courts and dismissed argument by the company’s lawyers that the case should be referred to the labour court.

“The court also said that it is not compelled to consider a letter without evidence from the company that it had taken this measure because of the difficult economic conditions at that time,” the paper said.

UAE cancels up to 1m work permits a year: official

New system linking Labour and Interior ministries to help firms save time and money

The UAE cancels up to 1 million work permits every year, a senior official of the country’s Ministry of Labour (MoL) revealed last week.
At a press conference in Dubai last week, Humaid bin Deemas, Assistant Undersecretary for Labour Affairs at the MoL, disclosed that around 800,000 to 1 million permits are cancelled every year and that a new system, which provides a unified platform to process visa and labour-related issues is in place now, helping employers save time and money.
The project to electronically link the MoL with the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has concluded, providing a unified platform to process visa and labour related issues, it was announced during the press conference.
The linkage has created a joint database for both the ministries, which will allow them to access each other’s files and information, as well as process and cancel visas electronically. The new system will also save employers some headache as they won’t have to fill two separate forms at both the ministries to apply for a labour permit, it was announced.
The new system requires applicant to file one form at MoL, which will then send it electronically to the MoI and process the documents.
The announcement was made during a press conference held in the Ministry of Labour in Dubai in the presence of Humaid bin Deemas, Assistant Undersecretary for Labour Affairs, and Colonel Saeed Salem Al Shamsi, Director-General of Residency and Foreign Affairs department of MoI, and Colonel Bakhit Saeed Al Suwaidi, Director Office of the Assistant Undersecretary of Residency and Foreign Affairs, and Saif Al Suwaidi, general coordinator of the project the MoL.
MoL has confirmed that the new system has undergone testing through a pilot project last November and has successfully issued 317,137 work permits. While, the issuance process has already started under the new system, the cancellation would be launched only in July.
Once operational, the system will allow cancellation of labour cards from any centre in the UAE or even at the airports, following payment of all fines due by the applicant.
The E-link will also require all the firms to have electronic signature card, work on which is currently under process.
Under a later phase of the project it would be mandatory for employers to have electronic signature cards, failure to have which would stall all the files of the applicants.
There are currently 140,000 firms who already have e-signature card and those who do not have will be given a grace period to be announced soon.

Salary increment for Dubai government employees

Mohammed's order reflects his interest in human resources as a top priority of Dubai government

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE in his capacity as Ruler of Dubai, has ordered the payment of annual performance-based increment for employees of the Government of Dubai for last year.

The said increment covers the past year - 2010, according to a press release by the Dubai Government Media Office (DGMO).

"His Highness' order reflects his interest in human resources as one of the top priorities of the government. He further underlines the awarding of sincere efforts backing excellence adopted by the Government of Dubai to advance the performance of its departments to the highest levels," the release added.

Last year's performance results showed a high level of maturity, flexibility and resilience to domestic as well as global changes while keeping high performance, according to the release.

Mohammed attends Rashid Awards for Academic Excellence

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, attended the Rashid Awards for Academic Excellence, organised by the Dubai Cultural and Scientific Association on Wednesday afternoon.

Also present at the ceremony were Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, Cabinet Affairs Minister Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Commander General of Dubai Police Lt General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Director of Dubai Ruler's Office Lt General Musabbah Rashid Al Fattan, Dubai Attorney General Essam Issa Al Humaidan, dignitaries, senior officials and heads of cultural and educational institutions in the country.

Mohammed orders monthly payment for national fishermen

The order of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai - Decree No. 4 of 2011 regulating the monthly salaries of national fishermen in the emirate of Dubai - has been implemented.

The chairman of the Dubai Fishermen's Cooperative Association Brigadier Mohammed Saeed Al Marri thanked Sheikh Mohammed for his continuous support for national fishermen in Dubai.

The new rules stipulate that benefits will be restricted to UAE citizens who have been members of the Dubai Fishermen's Cooperative Association for more than 15 years, with the added condition that they are not currently receiving a salary or pension from the local or federal government.

As per Article IV of the decree, fishermen entitled to benefits must own a boat and have registered it with the relevant authorities prior to August 1st, 2008.

UAE Labour Law on gratuity and severance pay of employees

Limited contract:

According to UAE Labour Law, you are entitled to 21 days salary for every year of employment less than 5 years, and 30 days salary for each year of employment over 5 years, up to a maximum of 2 years’ salary. Limited contract holders shorter than 1 year not entitled for gratuity. If the employer dismissed you and revoked the contract without the reasons provided in the article (120),they shall compensate the worker by a pay of (3) months or the period remained from the contract , whichever is shorter … unless otherwise provided by the contract

Unlimited or indefinite contract holders

With  notice period specified in UAE Labour law (usually 30 days) then the amount is according to the following:

Employed for less than 1 year - no gratuity

Employed between 1-3 years - 7 days for each year of employment (1/3 of the limited contract amount)

Employed between 3-5 years - 14 days for each year of employment (2/3 of the limited contract amount)

If you employed longer than 5 years - 21 days for each year up to 5 years, and 30 days for each year after 5 years (same as for limited contract holders). Maximum limit is of 2 years’ worth of salary. 

Unless the employer has not fulfilled their obligations according to the UAE Labour Law, or the employer has assaulted the employee (Article 121 conditions for permission to leave employment without notice). You might have to file a case with the Ministry of Labour in the UAE to claim your gratuity in this case.

Gratuity is calculated on base salary only, any additional allowances are ignored. Employees who are entitled to a gratuity will have it calculated pro-rata for part-years of employment. It is common for employees in the UAE to be on a limited contract which is renewed repeatedly after completion of the fixed term. The gratuity applicable in this case should be that for a limited contract. But check carefully what your contract says.

If a contract specifies a possible notice period for terminating before completion, then it is still a limited contract and you might not be entitled to any gratuity if you do not complete the contract, even if you give the correct notice as specified in the contract. However, such contracts do usually include a clause to detail what gratuity will be paid in those circumstances, and those clauses should have legal validity.

Being required to give a period of notice of renewal or non-renewal of a fixed term contract does not make it an unlimited contract. It is still a limited contract, and the gratuity calculations for a limited contract should still apply. If an employer claims otherwise, contact the Ministry of Labour to at least ask for clarification, and possibly file a complaint.