The UAE's National Human Resources and Employment Authority (Tanmia) has urged some 900 private companies in the trade sector, employing more than 50 workers, to fulfill the two per cent employment quota of UAE nationals before the end of this year. Failing to do so, these companies will be subject to penalties imposed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MLSA), said Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Awar, Director-General of Tanmia.
Dr. Khalid Al Khazraji, Under-Secretary of the MLSA for Labour Affairs, on Monday was quoted as saying by The Khaleej Times that the mechanism for enforcement of the UAE Federal Cabinet Order on the two per cent quota, which was issued earlier this year, is still being drafted.
The move represents a more forceful approach towards raising the number of UAE nationals in the private sector given the fact that the unemployment rate among the UAE nationals amounts to 16.3 per cent. Fresh statistics indicate that the number of job seekers registered with Tanmia reached 13,000 by the end of last year and this number is inclined to further rise with the entry of new higher education graduates into the UAE labour market in
the years to come.
There are estimates that the number of UAE national
job seekers will climb to 19,600 by 2010.
"Last year, Tanmia referred a total of 6,563 CVs of job seekers to private sector companies, as they were the suitable candidates for the vacant jobs registered with the authority, but 826 of them had actually got jobs, despite the fact that they had adequate training and qualifications that matched the jobs available," noted Dr. Al Awar. (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
