Hundreds of workers went on strike claiming unpaid salaries, and though the Ministry of Labour found no labour discrepancies, the protests continued till late on Monday.
About 300 workers of Al Habtoor Engineering demonstrated peacefully at a Deira labour accommodation on Sunday night. By Monday morning, the protests spread to the accommodation in Jebel Ali and a worksite in Deira.
Though these sporadic incidents were brought under control by the police and labour ministry officials, amid claims of resolution, it was clearly far from over.
Police control said 400 people marched from Jebel Ali to Al Quoz on Monday night over the same issue. Some were seen throwing garbage cans in departure from the peaceful trend.
Acting Labour Ministry Director-General Humaid bin Deemas told official news agency Wam, “An inspection of the company records clearly showed that it had been paying the wages of the workers with delay or deductions.”
Colonel Ali Abdulla Al Ghaithi, Deputy Director of General Department of Emergency of the Dubai Police and Transport Security Supervisor, said of the earlier two incidents, “It was a peaceful.” None was injured nor
damage caused… SOURCE
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Posted 6 months, 2 weeks ago at 11:34 am. Add a comment
Dubai Senior government officials have advised the business community and residents alike to look at the bright future of the country and stop searching for the “dark spots.”
Major General Mohammad Ahmad Al Merri, Director-General of the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD) told a gathering of foreign businessmen at the American Business Council in Dubai and the Northern Emirates that the myth about the collapse of the Dubai economy is circulating just because some people tend to have a bleak vision of the future.
On the contrary, he said figures available to the DNRD suggests that nothing of this sort has happened in Dubai and that the future of the city is quite bright..SOURCE
Well. if you ignore the fundamental economic problems… Sure, things look great.
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Posted 1 year ago at 12:45 am. Add a comment
Sharjah Municipality has reassured that the used cars market project in Al Ruqqa Al Hamra will be completed on time.
Dr Salah Al Hajj, Director General of Sharjah Municipality said that despite the current financial crisis which led to the suspending of many construction projects, the municipality will complete the project on time.
The proposed used car market project at Al Ruqqa Al Hamra will be executed within the first six months of this year.
The municipality has just completed the designing of the project and has called for tenders.
The project will cost Dh850 million for the first phase which includes 450 showrooms.
He said the construction of a 4,500 multi-storey car park and the new used cars market in Al Ruqqa Al Hamra aims at solving the problems faced by the residents of Abu Shagara.
The municipality is aware of the problems faced, but it soon become a thing of the past, Dr Al Hajj assured.
He pointed out the permanent solution to the problem is to move the used cars market from Abu Shagara which is over populated with narrow streets to the Al Ruqqa and Al Hamra area.
Dr Al Hajj urged the residents of Abu Shagara to be patient and bear the suffering for some more time, since the problem will soon be resolved…MORE
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Posted 1 year ago at 1:56 am. Add a comment
The National Media Council has dismissed an English author’s claims that her book has been banned in the UAE, after her allegations left 
a literary festival embroiled in controversy this week.
Geraldine Bedell claimed that her novel, The Gulf Between Us, had been banned from sale because it features a homosexual character. Her publisher, Penguin, repeated the claim.
The charges prompted the Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood, a Booker Prize winner, to boycott the International Festival of Literature in Dubai that she was due to attend and at which Ms Bedell’s book was to be launched. Others among the 60-plus authors scheduled to attend the International Festival of Literature next week have contemplated following suit or have written letters of protest.
But Ibrahim al Abed, director-general of the media council, said the book had not been banned and was highly unlikely to be.
“It’s not our policy to ban any book unless it’s crude pornography or it’s contemptuous of religion — whether it’s Islam or any religion,” he said. “Our country is known to be open. More than 70 per cent of the population are non-Emiratis. They’re living freely and openly.”
The festival organiser, Isobel Abulhoul, said Ms Bedell had been informed in September of the decision not to feature her book in the festival.
“We are very disappointed and a little surprised that it has taken so long for anyone to reconsider their position,” she said in a statement, particularly as it “has come to the public’s attention only now and around the publication of her novel”.
She added: “We have tried to contact Ms Atwood asking her to reconsider as we would like to speak directly with her to share the full picture.”…MORE
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Posted 1 year ago at 8:01 am. Add a comment
New laws to grant six-month residency visas to individuals who buy freehold properties will be ready next month, a top Ministry of Interior official said on Tuesday.
The ministry is also studying the possibility of granting residency visas to the families of property owners.
The move comes amid a 20 per cent decline in property prices and a predicted fall of up to 50 per cent in some areas by the end of the year.
“We are working on this draft to unify and streamline the procedures of issuance of residency visas for expatriates who purchase properties such as flats, offices, and shops,” said Brigadier Nassir Al Awadi Al Menhali, Acting Director-General of the Federal Naturalisation and Residency Department.
“They will get a six-month visa which can be renewed.”
Al Menhali said that details of the law, such as how much the renewal would cost, have not yet been worked out.
“It couldn’t come at a better time for the market,” said Vincent Easton, head of sales at Sherwoods, a property consultant firm. “I’m just confused about why it is only six months. It seems more like a visit visa.”
Previously, developers in Dubai had tried to entice prospective buyers from Pakistan and Iran by saying they could sponsor them for a three-year visa. However, problems arose when the application for residency was rejected by the Naturalisation and Residency Department (NRD).
In Abu Dhabi, a few developers had offered sponsorship to homebuyers.
Al Menhali said that there is no codified law which automatically grants expatriates residency if they purchase properties. He added that it is better to standardise the procedure across the entire country rather than some emirates applying different rules…SOURCE
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Posted 1 year ago at 1:15 am. 4 comments
Residents have raised doubts about the new law brought in to prevent developers from imposing huge hikes in maintenance fees.
Instead of developers being able to set yearly increases in maintenance fees, any increase will now need to be approved first by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera), according to a regulation issued on Sunday.
However for many, maintenance fees are required to be paid at the beginning of January every year.
It is not clear whether increases announced for this year will be forced back to last year’s rate, or whether the ruling is applicable from now on.
“On the whole, this ruling is tremendous. However, there are several question marks remaining,” said Hamid Hamri, chairman of the Owners Association in Jumeirah Beach Resort (JBR). The area has seen maintenance fee increases of 129 per cent.
“It is not clear whether this year’s increase will be put down to the previous amount,” he said. According to strata law enacted by Rera, service charge increases should be scrutinised and approved by the respective owners’ associations before being enforced.
However, few developers have registered owners associations despite a requirement from Rera that they do so.
The regulation means that service charge increases will be now be calculated by Rera based on a formula that “will seek to strike a balance between the expenditure shouldered by the developers and the quality of services received by the owners”, according to state news agency Wam.
“The service charges are no longer subject to the developers’ calculations and their desire to turn them into a profit-making tool,” Marwan Bin Ghalita, Director-General of Rera, was quoted as having said…SOURCE
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Posted 1 year, 1 month ago at 10:21 am. Add a comment
Last year may have seen a rise in crime rate in Sharjah but with many drug and international car theft gangs busted, Sharjah Police is talking tough.
Brigadier Humaid Al Hudaidi, Director-General of Sharjah Police, says they will not allow the emirate to become a transit point for smuggling of drugs or a safe haven for their distribution locally.
Speaking to Khaleej Times in an exclusive interview, he said that in 2008, the police managed to bust several gangs trying to smuggle various types of drugs out of the country and also for attempting to distribute it locally.
The arrests included members of a major gang, which tried to smuggle heroin worth Dh 40.2 million into the country. The 202-kg haul is considered the biggest drug bust ever in the region.
“Going by international standards, the local market for any kind of drugs has been low. But, through busting of several drug gangs in 2008, the police have seen that they target youth in UAE,” he said.
“As a part of UAE’s efforts to combat drug trade, Sharjah Police is working closely with the United Nations, Interpol and other federal agencies. The aim is to thwart international traffickers as well as individual smugglers.”…SOURCE
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Posted 1 year, 1 month ago at 11:16 am. Add a comment
02/02/2009 08:46 AM | By Ashfaq Ahmed, Chief Reporter
Dubai: There is no “one villa, one family” rule in Dubai and the campaign against overcrowded villas has been misunderstood, a top civil official said on Sunday.
Interactive Map: Dubai Rental Index
“The municipality has started a campaign against overcrowding in villas to ensure the safety and security of residents,” clarified Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of the Dubai Municipality.
He said the campaign was targeted against high numbers of people living in villas meant for smaller numbers.
“We can accept five to eight people in a villa – depending on its size – but not 20 to 30 people,” he said.
He explained that overcrowding puts pressure on civic service and also created security and safety problems.
“We face overflowing sewage, water and parking shortages and garbage collection problems in overcrowded villas because facilities in the areas have been designed according to the need of the areas. Overcrowding creates a lot of social implications also,” he added.
He said the municipality did not have any problem with more than one family living in a villa, provided it was big enough…
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Posted 1 year, 1 month ago at 11:13 am. Add a comment
02/02/2009 08:07 AM | By Ashfaq Ahmed, Chief Reporter
Dubai: Dubai’s beaches are clean and free of pollution, said chief of the civic authority Hussain Nasser Lootah, dispelling fresh reports that beaches are tainted with sewage water.
“Beach goers should not worry at all as Dubai beaches are absolutely safe for swimming and the issue of sewage dumping was resolved a month ago,” Lootah told reporters on Sunday.
He said the water samples from the beaches were tested recently and were cleared of any pollutants harmful for human health.
“We took very serious note of illegal dumping of sewage by some sewage tanker drivers in the storm drains opening in the sea. At least 208 sewage tankers were issued fines,” said Lootah, who has recently been appointed as Director General of the Dubai Municipality.
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Posted 1 year, 1 month ago at 11:09 am. Add a comment
The Government plans to clarify its new media law, which some observers have said is too vague.
The draft law was passed by the Federal National Council (FNC) on Tuesday, although it must still be approved by the Cabinet and the President to take effect.
The first draft of the 45-article piece of legislation was written by the National Media Council, a government body that oversees journalists.
An FNC committee then reworked the draft, making changes to at least 60 per cent of its provisions.
Ibrahim al Abed, the NMC’s director general, said the Government would release an appendix to the law within eight weeks that should clear up what critics have termed “vague provisions”.
The additional pages will also help judges, media organisations and journalists better understand the new law, he said, adding that the “executive regulation… will be more specific”.
Under the proposed legislation, journalists are protected against being imprisoned for what they write, but can face hefty fines for publishing or broadcasting material that harms national interests or the economy.
Mohammed Yousef, the director of the UAE Journalists Association, said last week that he would continue to lobby for changes to the law before it was passed.
Mr Yousef said the FNC committee had integrated almost none of his association’s recommendations.
Other critics have said the articles were too open to interpretation and could have a chilling effect on the way the media is able to report.
But according to Mr al Abed, the legislation is aimed at preventing stories from being fabricated.
“If one is confident of the source, then there’s no problem,” he said. “We’re talking about rumours such as spreading false news about a major company going bankrupt or that the economy is collapsing.”
The appendix could include more details about who would be held liable in a media case, whether it will be the individual journalist, the editor-in-chief, or the news organisation as a whole.
According to the draft law, the responsibility is to be shared by the editor-in-chief and the journalist, although media organisations could be fined.
Mr al Abed defended the fines, which start at Dh10,000 (US$2,720) and rise to Dh5 million for insulting the President, the Vice President, the Rulers, and the Crown Princes and their deputies…SOURCE
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Posted 1 year, 1 month ago at 4:43 pm. Add a comment
It looks like another misguided attempt to provide government jobs and worsening service. Is it any coincidence that most of the typing centers are owned by expats?
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) is taking the final steps to launch a semi-government typing company under the Federal Naturalisation and Residency Department and close private typing centres across the country, said a top official in the ministry.
In Abu Dhabi emirate alone, 126 private typing centres will be affected.
Brigadier Nassir Al Awadi Al Menhali, Acting Director-General of the department, told Khaleej Times recently that the private typing centres would not be allowed to type the departments applications once the new company is formed.
This company would unify the procedures and charges of the applications among the naturalisation and residency departments (NRDs) nationwide.
“We work on unifying the formalities in all departments in the seven emirates. Right now, some NRDs demand more documents or additional fees than others to type the applications,” said Brig Al Menhali.
“We discovered that many of the private typing offices charge up to Dh80 for printing applications when the actual fee is Dh40. They also collect more money for online applications.”
The ministry would inaugurate the Naturalisation Institute soon to prepare the staff joining the new typing company, the NRDs and also the new information centre.
“The current steps have been taken in line with the MoI’s strategy to provide the best services to the applicants countrywide,” added Brig Al Menhali.
He added that the staff of the proposed company would be trained by the MoI…SOURCE
Here is another telling quote?:
…Ayman Al Zaytoni, owner of Stroika Contracting Company based in the capital, said the typing centres cause many problems. “The staff members at these centres are unprofessional. They make mistakes while typing and sometimes, I had to pay the printing charges twice or thrice.”
He believes the semi-government company would be better as the staff would be well-trained and they would use Arabic language. “We find it difficult to communicate with the Indians now.”…
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Posted 1 year, 1 month ago at 11:29 am. Add a comment
The Emirates Identity Authority is providing the necessary equipment to Emirates Post so that the latter’s staff could carry out the entire process of issuance of ID cards, said EID Director-General Darwish Ahmed Al Zarooni.
Members of the public can register, fill in application forms, submit the required documents and receive the ID cards from the Emirates Post branches countrywide, he said and added that EIDA is providing PCs to allow the Emirates Post staff to get training in using the system.
According to Al Zarooni, until Tuesday some 820,000 expats and locals had registered for the ID cards. About 80 per cent of expatriate professionals and about 22 per cent of Emiratis have yet to register. Very soon two new EIDA customer service centres will open in Al Ain and Ras Al Khaimah, he said. Each of the centres will be able to handle 600 applicants a day…SOURCE
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Posted 1 year, 1 month ago at 9:27 am. Add a comment
Tourism doesn’t seem to be a priority any more. What happened UAE?
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) is considering a Federal National Council (FNC) proposal that visitors to the UAE will have to furnish a clean police record and a bank statement from their country of origin, senior immigration officials told Khaleej Times on Monday.
Ministry figures show that 80 per cent of pickpockets and thieves, nabbed in recent crimes, entered the country on tourist and business visas.
Brigadier Nasser Al Awadhi Al Minhali, Acting Director General of Naturalisation and Residency Department at the ministry, said the restrictions under consideration would be applicable for visit, business and tourist visas.
“General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Interior, has issued these directives calling for studying the proposal of the FNC, and take action on it as soon as possible, if the new restrictions prove practical and realistic,” he said.
“The Naturalisation and Residency departments in the country have arrested many criminals, the majority of whom had entered the country on visit, tourist and business visas. This has prompted the department to chalk out new steps, including the ones proposed by the FNC,” the minister said.
Major General (retired) Ali Majid Al Matroushi, a member of the FNC and the Chairman of the Internal and Defence Affairs ad-hoc committee in the House, told Khaleej Times the high statistics had been taken seriously and prompted the recommendations…SOURCE
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Posted 1 year, 2 months ago at 7:33 am. Add a comment
The Government of Dubai plans to boost public spending by 20 per cent next year to stimulate the economy and keep pace with its infrastructure development targets, Nasser Al Shaikh, Director-General of Dubai’s Department of Finance, told Khaleej Times in an exclusive interview on Saturday.
To better-position itself to face challenges posed by the global economic crisis and its impact on the domestic economy, government also plans to merge and consolidate operations of some of its departments and agencies, he said.
Al Shaikh said that the increase in 2009 public expenditure, over the budgeted public spending of Dh30 billion in 2008, would be to mostly meet the cost of construction of the Metro (the first section of the $14.3 billion mass transit project is expected to open by September 2009), the new Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central, bridges, roads and another infrastructure projects…SOURCE
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Posted 1 year, 2 months ago at 12:34 pm. Add a comment
People will now be able to apply for new visas or renew them in any emirate irrespective of where they stay or work as the naturalisation and residency departments (NRDs) in the country have been electronically linked.
Brigadier Nasir Al Awadi Al Menhaly, Acting Director-General of the Naturalisation and Residency Department at the Ministry of Interior, told Khaleej Times on Sunday that all NRDs in the UAE are capable of issuing and renewing visas, regardless of the emirate where the existing residence visa was issued from.
The ministry has completed linking of all NRDs electronically to provide this new service.
“We are in one country, and there is an electronic link between all NRDs,” he said. Under the earlier system, for instance, a person working in Abu Dhabi but has a residence visa from Dubai or other emirates had to visit the NRD in that emirate to renew his/her visa.
This was a sheer waste of time and effort. “Consequently, Lieutenant-General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Interior, gave instructions to ease the hardship of expatriates by allowing them to get visas or renew visas from the NRD in any emirate regardless of the emirate where the residence visa was issued originally. This is what we are implementing right now.” Brigadier Al Menhaly clarified that many expatriates are not aware of this new service, and still take the trouble of travelling to other emirates to complete their visa-related procedures. “We now tell them to save the effort and submit your applications to any department in the country to be processed immediately,” he said.
Meanwhile, denizens of emirates have lauded the ministry’s step, calling it a real timesaver…SOURCE
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Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 10:13 am. Add a comment
