UAE Labour Minister lashes out at EU report on human rights

UAE Labour Minister Saqr Ghobash said the European Parliament resolution on human rights in the UAE is baseless and does not reflect the real situation in the country. "The issue of human rights in the UAE is closely monitored by the leadership to preserve human rights and dignity in conformity with the UAE values and legislation," he said. Ghobash said that the European Parliament resolution was built on fallacies and lacked credibility, particularly in relation to the situation in the labour market. The labour market in the UAE is governed by policies that provide protection for workers and their interests. He said he was surprised about the EU parliament resolution in this respect. "It was inconsistent with several reports from the International Labour Organisation, which praised several initiatives implemented by the labour market in the UAE," Ghobash said. He said the Wages Protection System (WPS) became an innovative model for the Arab region and on international levels to ensure workers get their wages on time. Ghobash said the resolution had not taken into account the UAE's efforts to provide an exemplary work environment in accordance with international standards, such as the afternoon work ban aimed to protect workers from hot weather conditions during summer. "The European parliament resolution ignores the right to litigate provided by the UAE to workers. The Ministry of Labour allows workers to lodge complaints with the competent labour courts in case parties fail to settle a case amicably," he said, adding that there are many cases settled in favour of workers in accordance with the laws in this respect. He said the UAE provides assistance to labour forces coming from abroad and protecting them from exploitation.