14 February 2016, MENA Financial Network
A clash between minimum wages stipulated by the Indian government and those prevailing in the UAE labour market is resulting in rejection of applications by some UAE employers trying to recruit Indian workers Khaleej Times has learnt.As per the new UAE labour law it is mandatory for employers to get employment contracts signed by overseas employees before applying for a work permit.
The UAE has not stipulated any mandatory minimum wage for skilled labourers and pegs it to the fluctuating situations in the market.Allegedly taking advantage of these scenarios many UAE employers are now approaching the Indian government to hire blue-collar Indian workers with wages far lower than what is fixed by the latter on its recruitment portal.
“These companies or employers are sending employment contracts with very low wages and getting them signed by employees in India. Since that contract gets approved by the labour ministry here they think it will be approved by the Indian government’s recruitment system as well” a source explained.
However the eMigrate online system by the Indian government does not accept applications for recruiting Indian workers if the salaries submitted by employers do not match with the minimum wages stipulated on the website.
The eMigrate system in the UAE has registered over 11000 companies recruiting Indian workers here. After the initial hiccups it also enlisted over 400 job categories for skilled workers coming to the UAE as per the local system and has also given the minimum wages ranging from Dh800 to Dh2000.The minimum wages have been purposefully listed in a drop-down list on the eMigrate site to avoid employers manipulating the figures by specifying the salaries as per their wish.