Bad policy
Emiratis are already a tiny percentage of the private-sector workforce. Making it more difficult to terminate Emiratis will only make firms less likely to hire other Emiratis.
Addendum. The Financial Times has a franker report.
Addendum. The Financial Times has a franker report.
Labels: Emiratization, labor market
posted by John B. Chilton at 2/19/2009 02:47:00 AM
8 Comments:
Why not just take it one step further and enforce a quota system, "positive discrimination" like they do for minorities in U.S. universities (maybe thats already done, I dont know). Once the global liquidity crisis is behind us, it'll be interesting to see how many of those multi-nationals will want to expand their operations in the UAE, or just have some token satellite office for PR.
Exactly.
So what if the guy sit and do nothing?
It's sad, the vibes the government is sending out to the rest of the world. Considering the high majority of expats that come to Dubai to work this really is, as you said, a bad move.
Let's hope the powers that be wake up before its too late and they lose talented minds.
- Casey Andrews
Locals need protection, by better education. We have some of the worst primary education in the gulf.
I should know, Im a product of it.
Dangerous move IMO.
Typical short-sighted decision by the government. They can't see ahead to how corporate inefficiency and poor management will ultimately drag companies and productivity down. When us expats get together in the UAE, we love talking about lazy locals that do nothing for companies except collect a paycheck. Our stories are so ridiculous in terms of locals' ineptness, lack of qualifications, and laziness that they are humorous. I guess we'll have more stories to share now.
Individual Emiratis respond to incentives just like the rest of us. Thus, our comments here aren't going to stay on topic unless we focus on the consequences of government action -- be it government schools, government regulation of labor markets, and the like.
Let's try to stay on topic.
It strikes me that no amount of protection for Emiratis in the workplace can undo the gross demographic imbalances created by rapid growth and the mass importation of foreign labor. The government can create all the impediments to firing and incentives to hiring it likes for UAE Nationals, it wont make a whit of difference in a country where Nationals are such a tiny fraction of the private sector workforce. Laws like this serve as an attempt to remind foreigners who is in charge. Does it matter anymore in the UAE?? When is the last time you went to an Emirati restaurant or listened to arabic radio or TV?
There are already quotas in place. In banks for example it is 25%.
That being said it is time to start restricting residency VISA's, depending on a person's skills, to 5, 10, and 15 years.
NO PERSON not a citizen may stay in the UAE for more than 15 years.
And for those who have been here for longer? a rotational systematic firing and deportation over the next 5 years.
Also, the UAE needs to understand that it should NOT strive for a population of 5 or 6 million. No, the UAE should have a population of about 3 million.
That should suffice.
As for schooling, it used to be decent in my day. I am a product of the UAE school system, from grade school till my bachelors, and God willing, my MBA in the future.
The system is ok. It falls on the individual if they want to take advantage of what is provided or not.
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