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90 Indians facing prosecution in Dubai

— Photo: AP

RELIEF FOR MANY: Construction workers carry their belongings as they return to the Pauling Middle East labour camp in Jebel Ali Wednesday.

DUBAI: Authorities here have released most of the 4,500 Asian workers detained after their protests for higher wages turned violent on Saturday. However, 159 workers, including 90 Indians, are facing prosecution as they have been accused of direct involvement in the violence.

A majority of those released resumed work on Wednesday after furnishing bonds that they would abide by the terms of their existing contracts. As many as 3,900 of the 4,500 held were Indians, hailing mainly from Punjab, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.

The protesters belonged to a construction company operating in Dubai’s sprawling Jebel Ali Free Zone. The situation turned ugly on Saturday evening when a section of the workers attacked police vehicles, disrupted traffic and damaged public property.

The workers were arrested in the early hours of Sunday. They were taken to the Al Awir jail on the outskirts of the city. The Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi and the consulate in Dubai intervened to defuse the crisis.

“Our first aim was to ensure that there were no mass deportations following the unfortunate incident on Saturday. Fortunately, the authorities in Dubai were also convinced that only those individuals who had indulged in the violence directly should face any punitive action,” Talmiz Ahmad, Indian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), told The Hindu.

Mr. Ahmad pointed out that Saturday’s violence appeared “spontaneous” as the workers of the construction company had not aired their grievances either before officials of the consulate, the Labour Ministry or members of voluntary organisations who stay in touch with the Indian community in the labour camps.

Analysts point out that labour laws in the UAE have evolved, but more attention needed to be paid on the contracts governing salaries and working conditions of employees operating in the economic free zones.

So far, the contract in the free zone, such as the one existing in Jebel Ali, is signed only between employers and employees. In general, its copy is neither sent to the UAE’s Labour Ministry nor the Indian embassy or consulate for attestation. Because the contract is usually drafted in Arabic, Indian workers, unacquainted with the language, end up signing it, often without the full knowledge of its contents. Consequently, they become parties to a binding contract, on terms which they later find hard to implement.

Sources in a voluntary organisation that operates in labour camps, but did not wish to be identified, said that unskilled workers in the UAE earn a monthly salary anywhere between Dirham 650 (approximately Rs.7,000) and Dirham 800 (around Rs 8,500).

However, the rising inflation in the country is drying up the saving capacity, especially among blue collar expatriates, sharply increasing financial and social pressures on them.

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