Making short work
"They say the hours are very long, from 8am to 5pm."
A fascinating and illuminating report by one of GN's best reporters, Diaa Hadid, on the difficulties of getting locals into the private sector. It's not expat prejudice that's to blame, if the figures are to be believed, but local unwillingness to work a normal-length day:
"[The percentage of UAE nationals working in the private sector] stands at about one per cent - the number of UAE nationals employed in the private sector, in a country which creates 300,000 jobs every year, enough to absorb 10 times the estimated 33,000 unemployed UAE nationals."
Diaa also lists the number of (paid) holidays enjoyed by workers in the UAE public sector:
"Government sector employees work 7 hours a day, 5 hours a day in Ramadan. Most are given 45 days annual leave, reaching 60 days for top civil service grades.
"That does not include 9 days of official holidays, or the several extra paid leave they can apply for, including study leave, for employees who have completed 3 years work; paid leave to accompany sick direct relatives for treatment abroad; 21 days to complete the pilgrimage to Makkah and Madinah; and 6 months sabbatical leave, although with strict conditions."
Excluding sick days, study leave days, accompanying-relatives-days and sabbatical, that's 60+9+21=90. That's THREE MONTHS paid annual holiday, and for the more cunning - juggling leave around weekends and chucking a few sickies - easily FOUR MONTHS.
Nice "work" if you can get it.
A fascinating and illuminating report by one of GN's best reporters, Diaa Hadid, on the difficulties of getting locals into the private sector. It's not expat prejudice that's to blame, if the figures are to be believed, but local unwillingness to work a normal-length day:
"[The percentage of UAE nationals working in the private sector] stands at about one per cent - the number of UAE nationals employed in the private sector, in a country which creates 300,000 jobs every year, enough to absorb 10 times the estimated 33,000 unemployed UAE nationals."
Diaa also lists the number of (paid) holidays enjoyed by workers in the UAE public sector:
"Government sector employees work 7 hours a day, 5 hours a day in Ramadan. Most are given 45 days annual leave, reaching 60 days for top civil service grades.
"That does not include 9 days of official holidays, or the several extra paid leave they can apply for, including study leave, for employees who have completed 3 years work; paid leave to accompany sick direct relatives for treatment abroad; 21 days to complete the pilgrimage to Makkah and Madinah; and 6 months sabbatical leave, although with strict conditions."
Excluding sick days, study leave days, accompanying-relatives-days and sabbatical, that's 60+9+21=90. That's THREE MONTHS paid annual holiday, and for the more cunning - juggling leave around weekends and chucking a few sickies - easily FOUR MONTHS.
Nice "work" if you can get it.
Labels: emiratisation
13 Comments:
good morning SD...
this ain't new.. but what we need is a way to remove this negativity associated with locals in the workforce and the us versus them mentality.
i believe that if any non-emirati was offered the perks emiratis have then things would be equally as lax.
thus it's the system rather than the ppl.
once I work 4 hours in a day!
This is inhumane!
I really need to get myself a government job...
A. how long do the construction workers work?
B. I once got an out of office reply from a local lady working in a government organisation, without mentioning any names:
Thank you for sending this email.
I will be away in my Study leave which is starting from today 7th of Feb. 2005 until 31st of December 2006.
By way of comparison, the public sector in the UK have it easier than their private sector counterparts. A lot of them still get final salary pensions, for example. The solution is to reduce the size of the public sector considerably.
In GNs Letters to the editor...
Jobs for UAE nationals
Every other day, we hear or read reports of staff shortage in public sector offices, ministries and the police department. The shortage in each department runs into hundreds. On the other hand, we hear about efforts towards emiratisation of the private sector to tackle the problem of unemployment among UAE nationals. I suggest the UAE Government should offer jobs to all unemployed nationals and fill up the staff shortages in various departments. Not only will this help bring down unemployment, it will also improve the performance and efficiency of the government departments and the entire public sector.
From Mr R. Kazi
Sharjah
Conspiracy theory?
And poor old me in Ugly Camel Towers only gets 42 days, upto 20 sickdays and 9 other days.
71 in total + weekends that's some that's 175.
It's a hard life!
Yes Hannibal...It's called part-time
I work an avarage of 12 to 13hrs daily and I can barely catch up with work load... and that doesn't include the 1 to 2 hours i spend online in the evening!
@#$%^&*!
Implication: To hire a national in a private sector job you need to offer public sector pay and working conditions. There should be little doubt, then, why private businesses are reluctant to hire nationals - you have to pay a huge premium to attract them.
Emiratization is going nowhere until government does something to close that cost of compensation gap. Are private firms prejudiced against nationals? No, they simply don't see why they should hire them if they cost more.
But let's assume a firm did hire a national by compensating him or her the same of the public sector does. It is more difficult to fire the national for nonperformance. Nationals operate under a different incentive system meaning the firm gets less productivity out of a national - why work hard if the reward is the same as not? For the firm it's a double whammy - pay more for less effort.
I have taught locals at a College for the past few years, and can verify that the clear majority of them are ... spoilt, incompetent (can't even come to class with a pen or pencil), lazy, and very stupid. I'd probably call about 10% of them motivated and bright.
But there again, I work at a government institution, and only do 7 hours per day too, just like a local - 4 hours of teaching, 3 for prep and marking. Plus I get all the holidays, too!
Most of Dubai locals are just pathetic. They are so proud, no patience and no respect for visitors (except for the white skin people coming from the west) No respect for the Asian here at all. They think of expatriate as beggars coming here to work. And as a matter of fact, if the Asian community (including Indian and Pakistanis and others) leave Dubai then... this country would be history as there wont be anyone to work as UAE locals don't know how to work at all, they can't even speak English properly. If you don't believe just visit any of the local departments and see for yourself and how you get treated there. But wait a minute. Have you heard of something like...
Ahlaan Dubai....... Welcome Dubai.......
Dubai, The city that Cares... etc. etc.
With so many Indians and other nationalities from Asia just hopping to get the very next flight to Dubai (or U.A.E in general) to make their dreams come true........life would turn out to be a real shocker here. The common problem for youth in India is that they want to make too much money in too little a time.
They are willing to leave India on the first offer from any country of repute (or even without repute) without considering the pros and cons. As for the millions of U.A.E aspirants in India.........guys hold on! do a self-assessment based on the under mentioned facts:-
* Just don't multiply the AED salary by 13 and convert the same in to rupee earnings. That would be the first of the many mistakes you are likely to make. The conversion if at all should be done for savings and not gross earnings.
* If you a married person, consider the cost of family accommodation in U.A.E and more importantly in Dubai. The minimum requirement of a one BHK (Bedroom, Hall, Kitchen) flat would cost you a minimum of ranging between AED 3,000 - 4,000/- per month ( not per Annum, guys) any where in downtown Dubai. Add a minimum of 10-15% annual increments in rent. Don't expect the salaries to rise by even half that %.
* If you are smart enough to realize that you can look for apartments outside Dubai(Sharjah, Ajman, RAK) just to save AED 1,000 - 1,500 per month in rent , please allow yourself three to fours hours for commutation every day(given the present traffic situation, which can only degrade with influx of millions of immigrants every year). Add that to a normal 10 hours day would mean you would end up spending around 14-15 hours a day on job......and you thought family life would be so much fun in Dubai.
* Be prepared to shell out AED 100/- for a routine check up at doctors in UAE. If you are lucky you will not fall ill, but God forbid if you do, then you will have a big hole in your pocket.
* If you aren't used to summers of north India and hail from places like Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, then you are in for a treat of your lifetime.
Temperatures can run up to 45'C + on a normal sunny afternoon and such days are pretty regular. And did I mention the humidity levels of 95% ........I am sure I did.
* If you don't have children you are lucky......bcoz if you have 2-3 children going to school......add at least AED 12,000 (per annum per child) to the cost of living in U.A.E (which is also increasing constantly)
* You thought that petrol /oil here is cheaper just because it is an oil producing country? and the taxies would be cheaper too? think twice.......try taking a cab from the airport to your hotel ........the meter would touch around AED 50-75/- before you will be able to make yourself comfortable in a Toyota Camry.
* You might have the fanciest of all cars available here, but when it comes to parking the same, you might regret buying one. Imagine roaming around the streets of Dubai for 1 hour just to find a parking space...........alas.....even that's also not free.........don't forget to display your parking ticket on the front.......else a fine awaits you.
* Last but not the least of all woes is a triple call rate to your loved ones in India. INR 30 per minute from U.A.E to India.........whereas as INR 8 per minute from India to UAE ........it must give you an idea what awaits you in Dubai. Don't you dare think you can use
skype in Dubai.........guys its banned and its illegal........so much so for the communication.
* So if you are fascinated by the growing number of glam malls in Dubai .........the ever-changing skyline ............all the hype and glory that surrounds this place ...........the bollywood stars flocking to Dubai every Thursday night .........the cute cars ........the chic cafes ........BURJ DUBAI........BURJ AL ARAB ......Dubai Marina; think twice buddies !!!! (Remember what is yours is what you take home after a lifetime in Dubai).
No matter how long you stay here, you will still be an expatriate ...... no UAE passport, no free medical...ever! ......... and last but not the least ... no permanent home.
I think some people are forgetting to be greatful for what is made available. At least work is provided for people in this beautiful country of the gulf. No need to make comparisons to other places. If your not happy leave. I just want to say that i found, if u treat people well... u are treated equally as well. DOnt forget its a tax free country. This luxury is non existant in many parts of the world. Be greatful to God, and enshallah he wil return his kindness through ur prayers. Selam.
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