Foreign Workers Strike and Protests in UAE Literature review

Foreign Workers Strike and Protests in UAE - Literature review Example Another factor is the way that residence permits are used to make sure that expatriates stay tied to one particular employer. This article shows that restrictive employer practices in the UAE are contributing to calls for strikes among foreign workers. Bohning, W.R. (1996) Employing Foreign Workers: A manual on policies and procedures of special interest to middle- and low-income countries. Geneva: International Labour Organization. This handbook is an exhaustive guidebook on all the HRM mechanisms that could be useful for countries and companies which employ a large number of foreign workers. It deals with all the usual processes of hiring and firing, along with the rights of the workers and employers in terms of sickness benefits, remuneration and choice of location and living conditions. It is interesting to note that there is no section on worker rights to strike, or take part in any other kind of industrial action, but instead there is a reference to the desirability of â€Å"s pecial complaint and redress mechanisms† (p. 73). ... This book contains a collection of articles on managing human resources in different countries within the Middle East area. It is structured country by country and there is an introduction and concluding chapter by the two main editors. The fourth chapter is on the United Arab Emirates and is written by Abubakr Mohyeldin Tahir Suliman. This analysis gives brief introductions on the political and economic background to the UAE and then highlights some of the main HRM challenges which face the country including â€Å"employee theft, conflicts of interest, discrimination in hiring and promotion, quality control issues, and misuse of proprietary information† (p. 65) Although some of the data used in this article is quite old, it does give a good summary of the different industries which have developed in the last fifty years. It attributes the advanced state of HRM in the UAE to the contribution of well qualified and experienced foreign workers. Suliman explains the role of the UA E National Human Resources Development and Employment Authority (Tanmia) and the various professional Institutes which aim to manage the process of Emiratisation. He notes also that â€Å"there are no labor unions, and freedom of association is not recognized as a fundamental right in the UAE. Accordingly strikes are illegal†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 74) Significantly, there are no institutions in the UAE which offer specialized degree or certificate courses in HRM and this is an interesting finding which may help to explain why the whole issue of striking foreign workers is not being adequately approached in UAE at the present time. Godwin, S.M. (2006) Globalization, Education and Emiratisation: A Study of the United Arab Emirates. The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries