A new government scheme that prioritises Emiratis over expats in private companies should have been introduced decades ago, said a member of the UAE General Assembly.
The Ministry of Emiratisation and Human Resources recently announced plans to activate Article 14 of the labour law, which states that a non-UAE national should be given approval for employment only when an unemployed national suitable for the position cannot be found.
Minister Nasser Al Hamli said 400 selected professions in 2,000 private establishments will now have to give priority to Emiratis when recruiting.
Hamad Al Rahoomi, a Dubai member of the Federal National Council, who has long called for Article 14 to be enforced, said if this move took place back in 1980, “we would not have reached the struggle we have reached today where we are begging companies to recruit nationals.”
“Without this article we cannot achieve Emiratisation. I used to be the head of the Emiratisation committee and we did not succeed.”
He said he was happy that the government is now taking proactive steps, starting by adding Emiratisation in the Ministry’s title. He said: “We don’t only need a labour ministry, but one that also makes sure no Emirati will look for a job and not find one.”
The initiative is quite doable, he said, because the government is not targeting small or medium companies who might not be able to afford Emirati salaries, “we are talking about large establishments, and we know how much they pay expats. They can afford to amend the salary to fit a UAE national.”
The companies, in his opinion, will also be saving money by recruiting nationals.
“They will get discounted fees from the Ministry. They will be saving on residency costs and airline tickets and on health insurance.
“And they are coming to the country to invest and make profit. They should consider this as part of their social responsibility to give something in return by creating job opportunities for nationals.”
Excuses that it is hard to find Emiratis qualified for some posts are invalid, he said, because all government departments and some major private companies are run by Emiratis and they have proved their excellence by competing at an international level.
Minister Al Hamli, said they will be taking procedures against companies who recruit Emiratis on the surface only to fill the quotas.
"We don’t want companies to practice superficial Emiratisation where they hire someone just to fill a quota. This is unacceptable. We want the Emirati employee to be productive and fulfill their role,” he said.
“We are not stupid. We know they are doing this and we will sit with them and take our own procedures,” he said on Wednesday.
Rola Al Moheid, an HR consultant in Dubai, said picking certain companies to implement the scheme will place stress on those companies.
“If they are profitable and doing well money-wise, you don’t want to pressure them. If this will happen in the market, it should apply to everyone.”
“I would be more strict with government and semi-government entities before I go to the private sector.”
She said asking companies to justify why they would not recruit an Emirati candidate over an expat places responsibility on the company alone, while the candidate should also share the responsibility.
In Saudi Arabia, for example, nationals who fail to find a job have to prove that it was not due a lack of effort from their side. The government also stopped issuing salaries for unemployed nationals unless it is proven that they have taken all measures to find a job.
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“When resources become limited, this creates a sense of responsibility to work harder.”
She suggested similar responsibilities should be placed on UAE nationals, so when they are offered a job they will take it seriously and avoid falling into superficial Emiratisation.
Minister Al Hamli said previously if a company sees the Emirati as unfit for a position, they should justify why and the ministry will take the role of training and qualifying them.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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.
