Chapter 1: Introduction
1.10 Research Context
The broader context for the research study is the UAE, which has, in recent years, worked to diversify its economy and expand the private
industry and related jobs (Loney et al., 2012; NCEMA, 2016). The economy has historically been predominantly oil driven; however, the nation is making great strides toward reshaping the economy through the development of a national vision with aggressive goals (Seric & Tong, 2019). Specifically, manufacturing jobs have been considered to be of high economic importance, though such jobs often carry the greatest risk of worker-related harm (Gambatese et al., 2017; Seric & Tong, 2019).
The UAE population has grown significantly in recent decades because of the constant influx of expatriate workers. According to the most recent report published by the Department of Economic Studies (2019), laborers numbered 7.384 million, with a pre-pandemic unemployment rate of 2.2%. Further, in 2018, 91% of such workers were foreign employees or expatriates seeking employment in the UAE (Kumar, 2018).
With the UAE’s growing workforce, mostly from other countries, there is a greater need for OHS to address workplace environment risks. A strong OHS system can control and reduce such risks. Three primary causes for the OHS-related incidents in the UAE are as follows (NCEMA , 2016):
1. A lack of safety and governance control exists, owing primarily to a lack of contract and subcontract supervision at the operational level.
Moreover, there are no mature safety systems to ensure appropriate governance of the OHS system across all operational facets.
2. Safety planning is inadequate because OHS practice assessments are mostly preliminary. Risks are frequently linked to task performance, contractor management, or managing the work environment and its changes.
3. A low-safety culture exists and is common because of:
a. Poor attitude regarding safety and the behavior of the workforce at the operational level.
b. Lack of supervision and safety awareness.
Articles 91–101 of the UAE Labor Law (2001) furnish provisions for the safety of employees and health care. Thus, the employer is responsible for providing adequate protection against occupational hazards and diseases.
The employer must ensure that all safety measures mandated by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs are followed. Furthermore, employers must display detailed instructions on how to avoid work-related hazards. It
must be made available in languages that workers can understand. Workers must also provide first aid kits containing all of the materials specified by the ministry. Such regulations ensure the OHS standard’s quality and worker safety. For instance, during the hot summer, when temperatures can reach 50 degrees Celsius, there is a rule in place within UAE that workers must be given a break at the peak heat time to ensure their well-being.
However, there remain gaps in the implementation given a lack of understanding, supervision, and awareness.
Work-related injuries are a serious concern in the UAE (Loney et al., 2012; Alao et al., 2020). According to a 2011 study, work-related injuries and deaths were on the rise, accounting for 22% of all injuries in Abu Dhabi and more than 100 deaths per year (Dubai Statistics Center, 2011). While there has been a 38.2% decrease in overall injuries, a portion of which can be directly attributed to improvements in OHS, trauma remains the nation’s leading cause of death (Alao et al., 2020). Workplace-related injury
continues to account for roughly one-third of all trauma-related deaths in the nation, totaling 1,346 patients with severe injuries between 2014 and 2017 in Al-Ain Hospital alone (Alao et al., 2020). Thus, despite new legislation to improve safety in 2016, continued improvement is needed.
Prior studies conducted before implementing new OHS legislation and standards provide insight into the kinds of injuries common in UAE workplaces. Barss et al. (2009) report that, as the most common work- related injury, falls account for 52% of all injuries, followed by traffic collisions (18%), crushes or heavy object-related injuries (13%), and falls or trips without the complication of height (11%). Additionally, foot injuries account for approximately 7% of all hospital admissions, 61% of which are work-related (Tadros et al., 2010).
Loney et al. (2012) note the risk of workplace-related injury in the UAE is high because many of the jobs available to the workforce are high- risk positions. Petroleum-related jobs, construction of infrastructural projects, and other high-risk jobs increase the risk of workplace-related harm (Loney et al., 2012). Thus, employee awareness of health and safety risks, precautions, and protocols is critical to avoiding harm, reducing economic losses, and increasing productivity (Loney et al., 2012). The concept is directly related to the need for increased awareness of the policies and standards recently developed to mitigate the aforementioned risks.
A primary challenge in improving the health and safety of UAE workers is that low-wage earners are dismissed and poorly treated by employers. Indeed, laws on workers’ rights are not equally applied to Western-, middle- and upper-class workers, UAE natives (who are more protected), and expatriates from poor countries (Cummings, 2018).
Moreover, currently, the UAE does not allow for collective
bargaining or the activity of unions (Barbour, 2019). Thus, there is limited protection of employee rights, wages, and work conditions (Barbour, 2019).
Similarly, despite the country’s developing labor laws, there is a lack of administrative regulation, as well as a desire and motivation to monitor and enforce the law (Cummings, 2018).
From a legislative perspective, the UAE’s labor safety is administered by Law No. 8, originally written in 1980, and revised by Law No. 24, 15, and 12, amended in 1981, 1985, and 1986, respectively (UAE Labour Law, 2001). These laws provide for employee safety and health care, as outlined under Articles 91–101. They specify that employers must protect their employees from hazardous working conditions by implementing preventive safety measures. The law also requires that those who work in potentially
hazardous conditions have regular medical examinations every six months to ensure that they are not suffering from word-related ill effects or injury.
These laws are designed to apply equally to native and expatriate workers and must be overseen or enforced by the council of ministers via the labor ministry. Thus, businesses must routinely report all workplace illnesses and injuries formally to the ministry to determine if the employer is guilty of gross negligence or a lack of protective measures or if employees are guilty of misconduct (International Labour Organization, 2001).
Thus, the UAE has legal standards designed to protect employees. All UAE laws comprise two primary categories, and this case is no exception.
The first level is federal law, which applies to all workers in the Emirates, and the second level is emirate-specific law (Barbour, 2019). Given the serious concerns about worker safety in the past, international efforts have been made to ensure that local and federal law in the UAE evolves to protect workers (Barbour, 2019). The ILO law was first signed in the 1970s, but it is still used today to address human rights and labor rights
(Cummings, 2018). This law establishes a certain standard of working conditions for all employees worldwide. The agreement with the ILO includes protecting workers’ rights, developing federal safety programs and a system for monitoring their enforcement, creating social dialogue that ensures investment in the larger population, including employers, and educating employees about their rights (Barbour, 2019).
The primary labor legislation in the UAE is the Federal Labor Law (No. 8 of 1980), which outlines the general responsibilities of employers to ensure and maintain employee health and safety (Barbour, 2019). However, the law is general and does not mention any specific requirements.
Resolution 43 is expanded to address workplace hazards, but it is also idealistic and difficult to extend or enforce (Barbour, 2019).
Specific stipulations of the law state that employers must abide by local and federal laws on health and safety, pay for the treatment of any workplace accident or disease, and pay wages for any period during which the employee cannot work because of hazards (Barbour, 2019). In general, laws require the posting of codes of conduct in workplaces and responses after harm has already occurred, with limited protection. Figure 2 depicts the Abu Dhabi Occupational Safety and Health (OSHAD) framework:
Figure 2: Abu Dhabi Occupational Safety and Health System (Barbour, 2019)
Figure 2: A bu Dhabi Occupati onal Safety and Healt h Sy stem