Introduction

The stunning skyscrapers and expensive lifestyle of Dubai is fueled by the hard work of its dedicated migrant workforce. This vital segment is immensely contributing towards UAEs economic success. While realizing their importance, UAE has established well-defined rules and regulations in order to govern any types of labor accommodations and labor camps all across UAE to ensure the overall wellbeing of these workers.

Have you just arrived Dubai and unfamiliar with labour camp rules in Dubai 2024? This blog post will serve as a comprehensive guide to offer you some basic understanding of Dubai’s laws related to occupational health and safety and labour accommodation.

Who is Responsible to Provide You Labor Accommodation?

Primarily, the employer is responsible to provide you the labor accommodation as per to the law of Ministerial Resolution No. 44 of 2022 related to Occupational Health and Safety and Labour Accommodation. This law states that any company which has 50 or more workers must provide labor accommodation if their monthly salary falls below than AED 1500. This clause guarantees a secure and safe living environment for the low income workers who have limited means to find a suitable house independently.

Exemptions Do Exist:

Exemptions do exist for few special categories such as workers who are highly skilled with higher salaries or workers who are employed in a company for a short-term project. However, it is important to consult the relevant authority to clarify if your organization falls under the clause of exemption.

Basic Living Standards Outlines for Labour Accommodation

Ministry of Human Resources and Emiritisation (MOHRE) has established a comprehensive set of guidelines for the labor accommodation. These guidelines cover multiple key aspects to ensure a comfortable and a healthy living environment for the workers working all across UAE. Here is a brief breakdown of key points:

• Space Allocation: Every worker must have a minimum of 3 square meters of personal space for his/her bedroom. The maximum number of occupants per room is typically between 8 to 10.
• Rooms Specs: Every bedroom should have a ceiling with height of at least 7 feet. Every work should be provided with a bed, lockable cupboard and a side table with a minimum height of 2 meters.

Essential Needs: Every labor accommodation must provide thee following basic facilities to the workers living in a labor camp:

• Bathrooms: Every labor camp must have a sufficient number of bathrooms with provision of cold and hot water.
• Kitchen: Every kitchen must be well-equipped with proper cooking facilities and ventilation.
• Dining Room: Every labour camp must offer a clean and hygienic dining area for workers’ communal meals.
• Laundry Facility: Laundry areas must be allocated in every labour camp for washing and drying of dirty laundry.
• Prayer Room: A prayer room must be provided by every labor camp for performing religious practices.
• Medical & Healthcare Facility: A dedicated space should be provided by every labor camp for basic medical care.
• Health & Safety: The overall environment and provided facilities must comply with the health and safety rules specified by government of UAE. This includes rules related to health and safety measures, proper waste management and regular pest control measures.
• Lighting & Ventilation: All labor accommodations must be well-lighted, ventilated and air-conditioned to ensure an over-all and comfortable living environment.

Additional Considerations

All employers are responsible for the maintenance, upholding the camp rules related to labour accommodations. This also includes ensuring proper sanitation and addressing all repair needs promptly and maintaining a clean and a hygienic environment.

Key Responsibilities of Workers Related to Labor Accommodation

The main responsibility that lies on the workers is to play an important part in doing their best in maintaining a clean and a positive living environment. Here are few of their top responsibilities as being a camp’s resident:

• Maintaining Camps’ Cleanliness: The labor camps’ residents must contribute towards keeping their shared spaces hygienic and clean. This must include following specified waste management protocols strictly.
• Open Communication: If there is any issue related to the living conditions, the workers must communicate their top concerns to the relevant authority or to the camp’s management.
• Respecting Curfews: Few labor accommodations may implement curfews on designated times for security purposes. All residents must be fully aware of those rules related to that and must obey without objection.

Key Workers’ Rights & Rules Related Cultural Sensitivity

UAE lays a significant emphasis on respecting the rights related to cultural sensitivity of the workers who are living in a labor camp. There are few key aspects every employer must abide:

• No Discrimination: In UAE, discrimination on the basis of religion, gender and race is strictly prohibited. So employers must adhere to “no discrimination practices” at workplace. Every worker has a right be treated equally and fairly with respect regardless of his their religion, color or background.
• No Forced Labor: Every employer is legally bound to ensure that no worker is subject to forced labor. Any form of exploitation is strongly prohibited. No forced labor rule ensures that every worker should have a clear contract. They must receive their pre-agreed full wages on time and they keep the right to terminate that contract freely without any pressure from the employing authority.
• Freedom to Practice Religion: Every worker is free to practice his/her religion in UAE. Therefore, every employer must be mindful with respect to religious and cultural practices of their workers. This means that every employer is obligated to provide a designated space and time for offering prayers or to perform any religious practice. They must be given religious holidays. Offering your workers with their culturally suitable meals is also one of the responsibility of the employer towards their workers.

Resources and Law Enforcements

The government of UAE provides multiple resources and active channels for reporting any type of violations related to labor accommodation rules and regulations. Here are few basic very helpful resources for your fingertips:

1. Dubai Municipality: Dubai Municipality is responsible to ensure the monitoring and implementation of health and safety standards within labour camps and labour accommodations all across Dubai.
2. Ministry of Human Resources and Emirtisation (MOHRE): The primary objective of MOHRE is to enforce labour laws all across UAE. They offer an online portal and a dedicated hotline for any reporting violations.

Conclusion

UAE has established a clear set of labour accommodation laws in Dubai to ensure the overall well-being of their workforce. These labour laws are outlined under Ministerial Resolution No. 44 of 2022 regarding Occupational Health and Safety and Labor Accommodation. According to which every company which has 50 plus workers is obligated to provide their workers with labor accommodation facility if their monthly take home salary is below than AED 1500. These specific rules ensure a secure living environment for low income workers. These comprehensive set of rule cover multiple aspects related to labor accommodation. The top featuring rules include, minimum space requirement, room specs, and provision of essential facilities like bathroom, kitchen, dining room, laundry, prayer room and medical care.  Additional requirements include health, safety, proper lighting and ventilation system within a labor camp. Every employer must offer their workers with a freedom to practice their religion, prevent discrimination on the basis of gender, religion and background. Forced labor is strongly prohibited in UAE. Every worker is bound to maintain the cleanliness, respecting curfews and believing in open communication if they have any concerns related to labor accommodation.

Dubai is striving hard to provide a safe, secure and peaceful living environment for its migrant workers. Dubai Municipality and Ministry of Human Resources and Emiritisation is working closely to ensure health and safety standards all across UAE and enforcing the labor laws. Workers can report on MOHRE’s online portal and can contact at their dedicated hotline if they want to report any violation related to labour laws in Dubai.