When the economy began its slide last autumn, human resources employees were part of the first-response teams called in to help companies to make painful cuts.
These same employees are now seeing the first signs of an upturn, with Dubai firms seeking to hire contractors again.
"I wouldn't say it has got back to normal," says Satnam Grover, the senior manager for contract staffing for Dubai-based Dulsco HR Solutions. "It's not the same as last year but it has started improving."
In the finals quarter of last year, she says, large companies were laying people off "haphazardly" and many realised they had cut numbers more than they needed to.
But since March, companies have decided to add employees again, Ms Grover says,
this time preferring to bring in staff through human resources firms such as Dulsco.
Clients did not want to take on the risks associated with offering full-time employment, and were also keen to avoid the complications with visas and accommodation.
"They think: 'let's not go and directly hire people because it will affect us if the market doesn't improve the way we think it will improve,'" Ms Grover explains.
The improvements appear to be confined to certain sectors with retail, especially supermarkets and electronics, health care and telecommunications showing the biggest increases.
In that sector, people in merchandising and sales are in particular demand, while healthcare companies are taking on receptionists and data-entry operators. In telecoms, customer service staff are particularly sought after, Ms Grover says.
Major projects, including the Dubai Metro for which Dulsco has supplied engineers, are also hiring.
The rise in demand for workers has not caught on in the rest of the economy. Property and finance, two of the hardest hit sectors in the recession, have yet to turn to HR firms to increase their workforces.
"We get a lot of candidates who have been asked to leave from banks," Ms Grover says.
Dulsco HR Solutions provides clients both skilled and unskilled candidates; from blue-collar workers such as drivers, carpenters, electricians and general helpers, to white-collar employees such as receptionists and managers.
The firm dates back to 1935 when its founders had a stevedoring business in Dubai. Today it has about 6,000 employees in the UAE and Qatar.
Although there is cause for optimism in some areas, Ms Grover says said employers are were still cautious, and are evidenced by the fact they were tending to take people on for shorter contracts than before.
While the normal contract length used to be for about a year, it is now common for firms to hire for a month or so on for a single project.
If the upturn continues, many of these temporary staff will eventually be replaced by permanent staff members, Ms Grover says. "If the economy is back to normal, they will go back to that normal level., Tthey will have their own people."
But how do human resources firms themselves deal with their own fluctuating HR needs during fluctuating economic hardship times? Ms Grover says said Dulsco HR Solutions was took a careful about approach to hiring staff, and only does so doing so when there is was a demonstrated need.
"To be honest, Dulsco has been very cautious," she says. "We don't hire people assuming we'll get business. We only hire people if we're confident business will come our way."
The company has also been partly shielded somewhat from the slowdown because it does not provide construction labour, which one of the types of job that has been most heavily hit by the economic slump.
The company is also able to keep its workflow stable by entering into binding contracts with clients, she says added.
"None of our staff were let off," Ms Grover she says. "There are paper agreements in place where they take these people from us. They are binded by that agreement. All of these facts come into play."
As a result, Ms Grover said staff numbers at Dulsco HR Solutions, which has its head office in Dubai and subsidiary offices in Abu Dhabi, Ras al Khaimah and Fujairah, have remained relatively constant.
dbardsley@thenational.ae
Scream%20VI
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
WRESTLING HIGHLIGHTS
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Super 30
Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
SWEET%20TOOTH
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A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
