Tricked and Trapped: Human Trafficking in the Middle East, ‎pdf 4.1 MB

government action has, however, been questioned: according to one KTUF
official, “the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour is more concerned about
what the employer thinks than about the law. The labour inspection system
is questionable. As for the blacklist, it is not published.” 93
In the UAE, the Ministry of Labour has established units in labour-intensive
areas to provide care for migrant workers and raise awareness about their
rights. 94 Through these offices, the Government is able to identify workers
who are vulnerable to trafficking. In 2005 the Ministry of Labour started
the first work stoppage projects, which required all workers to stop work
from 12.30 to 3.00 p.m. in the peak summer months (mid-June to mid-
September). The UAE was the first country to initiate such practices, and was
followed by several other Gulf countries. 95
Box 4.2. Wage protection system
In the UAE, the Government sought to counter the practice of wage
retention by establishing the Wage Protection System (WPS), an electronic
system under which UAE-based companies transfer wages to their workers
through banks or money transfer companies, rather than by making cash
payments. An estimated 3.18 million workers currently receive wages
through this system. In the two years since its introduction, the Ministry of
Labour has responded to 13,000 cases, representing financial transactions
worth 12 million AED (US$3.3 million). If an employer does not pay the
worker’s salary, the WPS will directly inform the ministry, which after two
months will send out inspectors to meet the employer and try to settle the
issue. Such proactive monitoring systems seek to prevent the worker from
being trapped in an exploitative situation whereby the employer retains
the worker’s salary, thereby obliging the individual to continue working in
order to have any hope of being paid.
Sources: Interview with an official from the Ministry of Labour, UAE, 2 Feb.
2012; UAE, National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking: Combating
human trafficking in the UAE: Annual Report 2010–2011, pp. 27–28.
93
Interview with an official of the KTUF, Kuwait, 27 Mar. 2012.
94
Such units are currently operational in Yas Island and Al Raha Village in Al Wathba,
Abu Dhabi, in Al Muhaisna in Dubai and in Sharjah’s industrial area. The Ministry of
Labour plans to open more such units in Al Quoz, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah
and Al Ain.
95
Interview with an official from the Ministry of Labour, UAE, 9 Feb. 2013.
141