The Hindu : International / India & World : Dubai may deport 159 workers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 31, 2007
ePaper

International

International - India & World

Dubai may deport 159 workers

Atul Aneja

DUBAI: Authorities in Dubai have arrested 4,500 workers following violent incidents on Saturday involving employees of a construction company.

Diplomatic sources told The Hindu that out of these, 159 were likely to be deported because of there direct involvement in the destruction of public property, including damage to police vehicles.

The rest, the majority of them Indians, are likely to be released on Wednesday after they give a written undertaking that they will not the take the law into their own hands.

The workers who were detained were residents of a sprawling labour camp adjoining Dubai’s Jebel Ali port.

AFP reports:

Senior Labour Ministry official Humaid bin Deemas told the Arabic newspaper Emarat Al-Youm on Tuesday that the labourers went on strike and indulged in vandalism. The authorities in the United Arab Emirates took the decision after several thousand manual workers downed tools and reportedly occupied and vandalised a building before attacking police and vehicles with stones on Saturday.

Such protests are rare in the UAE, where strike action is outlawed and workers are not allowed to form labour unions.

“The appropriate bodies have been contacted to carry out the necessary measures [for their deportation],” bin Deemas added. “The labourers do not want to work and we will not force them to.”

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail