More than 60% of UAE employees want a new job

survey reveal 23% participants are very optimistic and believe this is the best time to be on the lookout Even though 2011 may not be a high growth year and a time when employers remain in command, more than half of employees in the UAE would like a new job.

According to an online poll run by a popular news paper, more than half of the workforce in the country has plans on looking for a new job. The survey reveals that 61 per cent of the employees in the country are looking to change their job.
According to the poll conducted over the past couple of weeks, almost a quarter (23 per cent) of participants are very optimistic on the job front and believe this is perhaps the best time to be the lookout for a new job. On the other hand, dissatisfaction runs high in more than a third (38 per cent) of the respondents, and they cite that as a reason of looking for better avenues. “I am unhappy with my current job,” they said in the online survey.
Despote this, ther are a those that prefer to sit on the sidelines for the moment as they are either happy in their current role, or fear jobs are still scarce in the market and that it isn't worth their while risking their current job to get a new one.
According to 16 per cent of the respondents, a job in the hand is too precious to risk whereas another 23 per cent said that they are happy in their current position.
Discontentment with salary stagnation seems to be high on the agenda of many people. “I’ve not got any hike for the past three years. There has been no bonus as well,” commented a respondent. High salary satisfaction in the UAE seems low in the current market scenario.
“The UAE recorded 3 per cent of respondents with high satisfaction, 50 per cent with medium and 47 per cent with low. Elsewhere in the Gulf and wider Middle East area, a peak of 5 per cent of professionals highly satisfied with their salaries was witnessed in Kuwait and a low of just 2 per cent of professionals highly satisfied in Jordan and Lebanon amongst other countries,” Lama Ataya, Chief Marketing Officer Bayt.com told this website, explaining the trends revealed in one of the jobs site's surveys.
According to a study by Gulf Talent, the UAE and the entire region at large is expected to grow this year, which may give hope to those looking for a change.
“Across the region, anecdotal evidence suggests slowly rising business confidence which should help accelerate economic activity and with it employment. Obtaining bank lending and collecting customer payments, however, remain two key challenges for many businesses, preventing a full‐scale recovery,” it said.

UAE not planning to cap residence visa, says Al Mansouri

Based on indicators in the first five months of 2011, the UAE gross domestic product is expected to grow between 3 to 3.5 per cent this year, Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 21st meeting of GCC ministers for planning and development in Abu Dhabi, Al Mansouri said the GCC invitation for Jordan and Morocco to join the group would, if takes place, contribute to expanding the GCC Common Market and harnessing the huge human, investment and financial resources available in the eight countries.

“The UAE is not thinking of capping the residence of foreign workers in the UAE,” the minister emphasised, calling for creating a thorough advanced statistical system to provide accurate data on the demographic structure and workforce.

He disclosed that the ministry had prepared a list of commercial agencies that would allow traders to import goods from the origin producers directly without referring to the local agents.

The move, he added, aims at provision of commodities at local markets directly at lower prices in a bid to curb soaring prices.

He said the list would be submitted to the federal cabinet within few weeks for approval.

Saudi issues clarification on six-year expat visa limit

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday put an end to speculation that it is about to kick out all its expatriate workers after six years, clarifying that the decision applies to only those private sector firms that do not abide by the country’s job nationalization quotas.

A government official was reacting to statements on Monday by Saudi Labour Minister Adel Faqih, who said a new incentive programme for the private sector to recruit more Saudis includes limiting the stay of foreign workers to six years.

The minister said the programme would be implemented in June and would give four classifications to companies, including “excellent and green” for those who abide by Saudization quotas and “red and yellow” for non-compliant firms.

“What the Labor Minister meant by his statement was that the measure would be applied on those foreigners who work for companies in the yellow [non-compliant] category,” said Hattab Al-Anazi, official spokesman of the Labour Ministry.

Quoted by the Saudi Arab News daily, he said that companies in the yellow category that did not fulfil Saudization conditions should correct their status in order to get visas of their workers renewed.

He said visas for foreign workers in red category companies would not be renewed at all, irrespective of the years they have spent in the Kingdom.

“The new Nitaqat system allows renewal of iqamas (work visas) without any condition for expatriates who work in companies in the green and excellent category,” Al-Anazi said.

He noted that the new measure would not apply on house servants as their visas would be renewed without considering how many years they stayed in the country. “They are not at all linked with the Nitaqat system,” he said.

ID registration procedures online in 7 languages

Expatriates wondering about the procedures to register in the UAE national identity can now see them online in seven languages that involve the bulk of the country’s eight million people, according to the ID issuers.

The Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA) said it had just introduced these procedures on its website in Arabic, English, French, Persian, Chinese, Urdu and Hindi so all residents in the country can have access to them before heading for registration offices with the required documents.

“This move is within a number of new measures taken by the Authority to upgrade services and ensure that all residents are registered,” said Abdul Aziz Al-Maamari, marketing director in EIDA.

More than three million Emiratis and expatriates based in the UAE have been registered in the national identity, an ambitious project launched by the country a few years ago to create an accurate demographic data base.

EIDA had set a registration deadline at the end of June but it is expected to be extended again as millions others have not registered yet.

staff from Free zone can't move courts directly

Labour disputes in free zones should be first reported to the free zone authorities before moving the courts. In the event the free zone authority fails to reach a satisfactory settlement of the dispute, the case should then be referred to the Labour Court.

The Dubai Court of Cassation established the new legal principle while considering the appeal filed by an employee working in Jebel Ali Free Zone before the Labour Court to demanding his company pay him of Dh558,000 in dues.

The employee (plaintiff) said he had joined the company as Managing Director on Dh35,000 monthly salary. On his return from annual leave he was surprised to learn that a report of him having 'escaped' was issued by the company. He alleges the company took such a step to avoid paying him teh dues.

He said the dues include salary until the end of his contract which is about Dh345,000; compensation for unfair dismissal which is about Dh105,000; annual leave allowance Dh7,000 for the last two years; Dh73,000 as service bonus; and air ticket alowance Dh1,500.

The Court of First Instance refused to accept the case because he failed to present his complaint to Jebel Ali Free zone Authority first.

He then moved the Court of Appeal which again rejected the appeal and upheld the appellant.

But the employee was not satisfied with the verdict and moved the Court of Cassation which issued the new principles mentioned above.

The Court of Cassation said its ruling: “The legislator in the decree of establishing the authority of Jebel Ali Free Zone and its implementing regulations gave authority to the free zone of Jebel Ali (power and competence) to receive complaints and requests for workers and companies and institutions working in the geographical scope of the free zone of Jebel Ali of any legal disputes."

The court added also it has given the power to settle the dispute amicably, and in case the authority failed to reach a settlement, it is entitled to take the decision it deems appropriate, such as refer the case to the competent court.