Workers end strike, says Dubai company

Asian labourers work at the construction site of a new track for the Dubai Metro yesterday.

AFP/DubaiThousands of mainly Asian expatriate workers in the UAE have ended a strike they began at the weekend in a rare stoppage aimed at improving their conditions, their employer said yesterday. “Arabtec confirms that all workers returned to work with no impact on any of its projects,” the Dubai-based company, which is constructing the Louvre Abu Dhabi, said in a statement. “This unwarranted stoppage had been instigated by a minority group who will be held accountable for their actions,” said the company, adding the issue was “resolved amicably” with co-operation from the labour ministry, police and other authorities. “The UAE Ministry of Labour has recognised Arabtec’s continuing commitment to the rights and well-being of its employees,” said the statement. It did not say, however, if the workers who began their strike on Saturday, affecting the pace of work at construction sites in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, had obtained any improvement in their conditions. The National newspaper reported that the workers were demanding their Dh350 food allowance paid with their salaries rather than the three daily meals provided by the company. The daily said police were called to a labour camp in Jebel Ali, south of Dubai, on Saturday after some staff refused to go to work. The situation appeared calm around the camp yesterday. Arabtec employs some 40,000 people—most of them South Asian construction workers. The company built Dubai’s landmark Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, and has won a $654mn contract to build the Louvre Abu Dhabi art gallery, set to open in 2015. In 2011, 70 Arabtec workers were arrested in Dubai following a protest demanding wage increases in a labour camp.