One million unskilled workers of 175 nationalities benefit from ‘TAWJEEH’ services

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) has announced that more than one million unskilled workers of 175 nationalities have benefited from the services provided by the ‘TAWJEEH’ service centers since they were launched in May last year.

The 34 ‘TAWJEEH" centers nationwide provide awareness and guidance services for employers and unskilled workers on behalf and under the supervision of the MOHRE based on a corporate partnership with the private sector, which runs these centers with national cadres in line with the criteria of the Emirates Excellence Service Government Program.

“The services provided by the TAWJEEH centers are aimed at spreading awareness among workers about the labor law and the relevant executive regulations and familiarizing them with the UAE culture and history and the customs and traditions prevailing in the society”, Qassim Jameel, Director of the Guidance Department at MOHRE, said.

The services are also aimed at raising awareness among workers about the channels of communication with the MOHRE for making inquiries and filing labor complaints, thereby contributing to a large extent to the stability of the business relationship between employers and workers in light of both parties’ awareness of their rights and duties, he added.

Jameel explained that the services are provided by means of training programs for the UAE unskilled workers who are visiting the UAE for the first time. These programs include instructive drama films displayed inside halls that are designed according to the latest audiovisual systems and dubbed into 16 languages before workers are given their new or renewed employment contracts, he said.

He stressed the importance for the workers’ employment contracts to be delivered and signed at the ‘TAWJEEH’ centers to ensure that the workers are aware of the requirements and privileges of the work stipulated in the contracts, which must be consistent with the job offers received by the workers before proceeding with the contractual work relationship.

The ‘TAWJEEH’ centers had already delivered ‘happiness cards’ to tens of thousands of targeted workers, he said. An MOHRE initiative, the ‘happiness card’ reflects the goals of the National Program for Happiness and Positivity, which is aimed not only at reaching all groups and individuals of the society and exploring what makes them happy but consolidating happiness and positivity values ​​as a lifestyle in the UAE society as well, he added.

The MOHRE distributes the ‘happiness card’ free of charge to workers in partnership with the Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Corporation (du). The card is a mobile phone SIM card with many special features for its holders only. It is also used to link workers’ data to the MOHRE’s electronic system with a view to easing communication with them and constantly familiarizing them with the new decisions and procedures, particularly through SMS.

Jameel underscored the keenness of the ‘TAWJEEH’ centers on providing the targeted employers and workers with awareness brochures, which contain the rights and duties stipulated by the work relationship between the two parties in several languages ​​to ensure that the required material is delivered to the workers, irrespective of their skill levels and cultures.

The MOHRE divides workers into two classes: skilled workers, who are classified under two levels: 1) specialized occupations, which require a high degree of scientific, technical, and administrative skills and a university degree as a minimum, and 2) technical occupations, which require the availability of scientific and technical mental skills and practical and supervisory skills with a 2-3-year post high-school degree issued by an intermediate institute.

The second class includes unskilled workers, who are classified under the third skill level, which requires practical and occupational skills that cover the entire scope of the job and a high-school certificate. The fourth skill level includes workers assigned to jobs that require practical and occupational skills that cover part of the job, while the fifth skill level includes workers of limited skills assigned to jobs that require practical and occupational skills that cover a small part of the job.