A significant drop by 40 percent has been recorded in labour disputes in Abu Dhabi emirate during 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. This was as a result of the exerted awareness efforts, which contributed to strengthening the legal culture of workers and companies, and, introducing them to their rights guaranteed by the Labour Laws in the UAE, according to the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD).

Counsellor Youssef Saeed Al Abri, the Under-Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, attributed this qualitative achievement to the companies and individuals’ increased awareness of laws in force in the country, and the successful awareness campaigns carried out by the Department in cooperation with strategic partners. Such initiatives aimed at promoting the legal culture in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Presidential Court, and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, he noted.

Al Abdri pointed out that the progress of legal procedures in labour cases, and the manner in which disputes are addressed in the labour court, helped achieve enhancing economic stability for institutions and individuals. This was in accordance with the ADJD strategic plan and the emirate’s vision, which contributed to supporting the status of the emirate as an attractive destination for foreign investment and business, he added.

Furthermore, through these awareness campaigns, the Department is keen to reach a large number of clients by visiting their locations and providing them with translations in up to 5 languages such as Arabic, English, Urdu, Pashto and Bengali, as a convenient manner to speak to the target groups in their own languages. This helps make them aware of the important laws that guarantee their rights in the UAE, and to answer their questions and enquiries, and provide legal advice as well.

The decline in labour cases reflects the Department’s efforts to spread the legal culture through awareness campaigns for employees. During the past year, several campaigns were conducted at labour camps to make labourers familiar with their obligations stipulated in the new labour law.

The campaigns emphasised the need to comply with occupational safety and health instructions, to preserve production means and tools, not to possess work related papers or electronic documents for personal interests, to adhere to good conduct, not to disclose secrets, to maintain the work, to diligently develop functional and professional skills and to raise performance level.

The campaigns also aimed at introducing employees to contracting procedures with employers, to the correct methods and channels for filing complaints, to obtaining the rights under the employment contract in case of termination of the contract or the employer’s failure to fulfil his or her obligations, and to the termination requirements.

The mechanism for obtaining unemployment insurance, regulations of transfer to another facility for work, the way to obtain a new work permit as per the specified rules, the importance of referring to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation in case the agreed job opportunity was not provided by the employer or the worker did not receive the salary on time, are all highlighted by these campaigns.

The awareness drives also stressed the employees’ right to leave the company upon fulfilling his obligations, and the importance of adhering to the laws to express dissatisfaction, file complaints through legal means without causing chaos and making gatherings.