Dubai (AsiaNews) –4 thousand labourers working in Dubai have been deported after thousands downed tools and staged an illegal strike at the weekend over poor wages and working conditions. The labourers chiefly from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, are accused of vandalism for having stoned private cars as well as police vehicles.
There are no unions in the Emirates and strikes are forbidden: an official from the Labour Ministry comment on the episode confirming that “if the workers do not want to work, than we cannot force them to”.
At the root of the protests, which involved thousands and lasted over two days, difficult working conditions of labourers and construction workers for the most part involved in the building of Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building reaching over 643 meters. “The cost of living here has increased so much in the past two years that I cannot survive with my salary," said Rajesh Kumar, a 24-year-old worker from the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh who earns $149 a month”.
Rumours of strikes are also abounding in nearby Kuwait. At the bottom of the threatened walk out of workers from the Petroleum and Petrochemical Industry the fact that the Civil Services Commission has failed to categorize the positions and salary raises of employees.
