UAE Cabinet liberalises trade

The UAE Cabinet has agreed to liberalise trade agencies of 12 essential food commodities, and approved a new draft law to protect the rights of domestic workers and their employers, WAM reported. Sunday's decision of the UAE Cabinet, chaired by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to liberalise the trade of 12 essential commodities will contribute to market stability and further enhance customer rights, Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, the UAE Minister of Economy, said. The decision is meant "to curb unjustified soaring prices of some commodities, boost the principle of competition in the UAE markets, combat all types of monopoly and exploitation," WAM added. The list of foodstuffs includes all types of beverages, dairy products, livestock, fats and oils, eggs among others. Meanwhile, the Vice-President announced on his Twitter account that the Cabinet has "approved a new draft law for the domestic workers in UAE." "The new law shall protect the rights of both workers and employers. Our Islamic values always encourage us to preserve the rights of the workers and to treat them well, and the law is emphasising this," he added. Major General Nasser Al Awadi Al Menhali, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Interior, Assistant Undersecretary for Naturalisation, Residency and Ports, told Gulf News under the new law sections will be set up at the residency departments across the country to look into and sort out disputes that arise between domestic workers and their employers. The bill was drafted by a team of representatives from the ministries of Interior, Labour and Justice and it must be passed by the Federal National Council and signed into law by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The 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 Cabinet also approved Etihad Rail's plan to borrow Dh4.7 billion to finance part of the construction of a nationwide railway network The money would enable Etihad Rail to finance its Shah-Habshan-Al Ruwais rail line project, according to WAM.