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Low salaries and no holidays for cleaners
AN ABU Dhabi-based complainant says that those working in Onyx Gulf (specifically the city cleaning workers) receive very low salaries of Dh400 (and uniforms) and do not get any holidays.
They have to work for 365 days a year, and if any one is sick and takes a day's leave, it is deducted from their salary. “We are suffering a lot. We had paid more than Rs200,000 to get the visa. Please help us get justice,” he wrote.
Reply
KHALEEJ Times contacted Onyx Gulf management seeking clarification from them. Khaled Al Otoom, Technical Communication Manager, said the company gives the staff including workers, drivers, supervisors etc the following:
1. Monthly salary (depending on the position of the person)
2. Monthly cash allowance (depending on the position of the person)
3. Accommodation
4. Food (three meals per day)
5. Clothes
6. Laundry facilities for all staff members
7. 30 days leave per year
8. Two-way tickets every two years
Also, in the case of illness of any of our staff, we take him to hospital (private or government) and we pay the doctor's consultation fees and the cost of medicines.
In addition, we are contacting some private hospitals to have a contract for medical consultation for all the staff (as it is done in all Onyx branches all over the world). This proposal for medical consultation will be implemented by June and will involve the following:
1. A yearly medical check-up for each member of Onyx Gulf
2. A nurse will have a clinic in our camp for a daily check-up of any case So, the information you received is not quite correct. Passengers complain of rude taxi drivers
A COMPLAINANT recently said that in general taxi drivers are extremely rude, aggressive and impolite to passengers in the emirate of Sharjah. As if this was not enough, the private taxi drivers also smell, said the complainant who called Khaleej Times hotline.
“This is a normal complaint against all drivers, but those of private taxis in Sharjah also smell, making the ride unbearable,” said the complainant adding, something should be done to prevent them from misbehaving with the passengers.
Reply
A REPRESENTATIVE of Sharjah Transport Corporation said, “Private taxis are being phased out in the emirate and soon only well behaved and disciplined taxi drivers will be plying the roads in new vehicles that do not smell. Drivers are instructed to stay clean and be polite, as otherwise they can be fined.
Over 400 workers not paid April salary
AN EXPATRIATE complained that his employer failed to pay more than 400 workers their April salary. The complainant noted that their salaries for March were paid on April 20. Until yesterday, the employer did not notify the workers when their April salary will be paid. The complainant said that the workers cannot survive without money and asked what they should do.
Reply
SALAH Bilal Faraj Al Falasi, Coordinator of the Permanent Committee of Labour Affairs in Dubai, noted that there are three channels through which workers who have complaints can seek support.
One of these channels is the committee which can be contacted on the toll free number 8009119 and communicated through the website www.labourcomplaints.ae.
“The committee is ready to promptly investigate complaints of workers with the employers,” he said adding that the committee has made its communication channels within the reach of labourers by placing posters at different places including labour camps, project sites and at the government departments as well as on public transport buses.
The second channel is the Labour Ministry and workers can lodge a complaint with the ministry's labour relations department which in turn investigates the problem, by summoning the employer and tries to solve the issue amicably.
The third channel is the Human Rights Department of Dubai Police, the authority that was also assigned to receive and handle labour-related complaints. Labourers can file their complaints through the department's toll free number 8005005.
No light signal at pedestrian crossing
A RESIDENT of Sharjah complained about the lack of a light signal at a pedestrian crossing in Al Mina Road where it's very difficult for mothers with children to cross the road.
Reply
AN OFFICIAL from Sharjah Traffic Department said the department has been cooperating with Sharjah Municipality to solve this problem, promising that it will be attended to shortly. The department is planning to install light signals in many areas in Sharjah, but due to lack of budgetary support, the projects have been delayed.
No public bus to Sonapur on weekends
A RESIDENT of a labour camp in Sonapur complained that the bus number 13F does not run on weekends, despite the demand for service on that route on Fridays. Commuters are compelled to wait almost two hours, Abu Baker claimed, for Bus 13 to travel between Deira central and Sonapur.
Reply
AN OFFICIAL of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai clarified that the routes and their frequency are decided only after an in-depth survey is conducted to ascertain the demand and requirement for the service on weekdays and weekends. According to the last such survey for the area in question, the demand was considerably lower on weekends based on which the service was discontinued.
The official, however, noted that with feedback from the commuters using the service, it is possible to reintroduce some buses/routes if the demand has gone up in the last couple of quarters. He urged commuters to get in touch with the department and update its information on their needs.
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