Private-sector companies are more likely to employ Emiratis because of a new government policy that protects them from being laid off, a labour official said yesterday to counter claims to the contrary.

Feddah Lootah, the acting director general of the National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority (Tanmia), said Emiratis would feel more secure in their jobs knowing they cannot be laid off. As a result, they will “increase their productivity, performance and loyalty”. Companies will become aware of that trend and will recruit more Emiratis, she said.

In contrast, some business owners and analysts have described the guidelines, announced on Wednesday by the Ministry of Labour, as “counterproductive” and “inflexible”.

Under the new policy, private companies may not dismiss Emiratis except in cases of serious misconduct. If a company wants to dismiss an Emirati for any reason, including financial difficulty, it must notify the ministry one month in advance.

“This new law protects the national workforce of the country and, like any country in the world, the national workforce is the most valuable asset and wealth,” said Mrs Lootah, whose agency is charged with the task of finding jobs for Emiratis. “Hence, all efforts made by governments are to be channelled towards achieving stability and prosperity to its people.”

She said the UAE would seek to protect the rights of all workers, Emirati and expatriate, from unlawful and unfair redundancies.

The new policy also stipulates that underperforming Emiratis could not be sacked but must be given more training or transferred to work more suited to their skills.
Paul Dyer, a research associate at the Dubai School of Government, who specialises in labour policy, said the new rules were “a worrisome precedent” that may serve as a disincentive to be productive.

“This kind of legislation sends strong signals to those who are not motivated from within, that they do not have to put much effort to keep their jobs, and therefore, reinforces a cycle that already exists within private businesses of not hiring Emiratis,” he said. “Hence, firms will resist much more than in the past from hiring Emiratis.”…SOURCE

Proposal moots job security for Emiratis

02/15/2009 09:02 AM | By Wafa Issa, Staff Reporter

Dubai: A proposal to ban companies in the private sector from sacking Emiratis other than for labour law violations is under consideration.

The National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority (Tanmia) has submitted a draft proposal to the Ministry of Labour under which cases pertaining to the termination of Emiratis working in the private sector are to be evaluated.

Feddah Lootah, the acting director-general at Tanmia, said the proposal aims to safeguard jobs of Emiratis in the private sector. “The main task of the authority is to preserve the jobs of Emiratis,” he said.

The ministry is looking into the proposal but no time-frame has been given as to when a decision could be made.

The proposal suggests that the termination of Emiratis in private sector companies is to be considered arbitrary unless the employee has violated the labour law.

The violations which could lead to a worker’s peremptory dismissal are outlined in Article 120 in the Labour Law…