Top officials of Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry welcomed a delegation of the Construction Business Group at the Chamber premises recently. The meeting with the Business Group that operates under the umbrella of the Chamber was called to share the group’s concerns about the challenges it was facing in its day-to-day operations in the present economic climate. Of most concern to the Group were the issues of labour visas and their impact on manpower and the non-receipt of their dues from builders and developers.
The representatives of the Construction Business Group also voiced concerns about the myriad of Government regulations that were currently being implemented. It is the Group’s view that rules as they stood in or before 2007 are strong enough to effectively regulate and control the work practices of the industry. They urged Dubai Chamber to make representations on their behalf to the relevant authorities regarding this issue. The Group also sought an easing of penalties for breach of regulations related to labour camps, heavy vehicle driving licences policies and sewerage treatment and disposal issues. This is an added cost on the members of the Group at this time.
The delegation also highlighted the labour visa issue. They feel that a relaxation on visa restrictions and the rules of transfer of skilled labour would greatly help them in minimizing spiraling costs. They recommend that this may be done by processing new labour cards expeditiously and canceling transfer fees. They also appealed that the Chamber broach with the Ministry of Labour the idea of allowing labourers and staff members to re-enter the Emirate after a year’s time in place of the existing six months re-entry rule.
Another major issue raised by the delegation was their deferred payment. They said that most of the projects were completed however they were finding it difficult to meet their commitments due to non-receipt of payments. They called upon the authorities to assist in addressing their cash flow problem.
While acknowledging the challenges faced by the sector, Dubai Chamber officials urged the representatives to put together a concrete proposal regarding the issue of visa conditions and its impact on skilled labour. In addition, the Group should submit a proposal outlining a process of staged payments to keep the cash flow coming in. This proposal would be presented to the concerned authorities for their immediate action while the meeting also came up with a proposal to form crisis teams in banks that could examine the merits of each case.
Dubai Chamber urged the Construction Business Group to contribute regularly to the monthly surveys being undertaken by the Chamber. These monthly report cards will be a vital tool in bringing the true picture of the sector to the Government's attention. Dubai Chamber also encouraged all parties to stay out of the courts where possible to utilize mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) available at the Dubai International Arbitration Centre as a means to coming to an amicable agreement to all business disputes.
