ABU DHABI // Labourers working on high-rise buildings in the capital are putting their lives at risk by not using proper safety harnesses.
During site visits, inspectors from Abu Dhabi Municipality found men working at height on unfinished floors, temporary platforms, on scaffolding or in cradles used for cleaning windows at towers under construction without safety equipment to prevent them from falling.
According to the municipality, 52 construction and contracting companies and consultants were fined in the first quarter of this year for breaches of building safety rules.
“Some violations witnessed during the inspection included working on high-rise buildings without a harness and proper safety equipment,” said a municipality spokesman.
Companies found to be in breach of safety rules face fines of between Dh10,000 and Dh40,000 depending on the offence, and construction sites can be shut down. As well as safety on site, companies must also ensure the safety of passers-by and adjacent buildings
Men working in construction around Abu Dhabi said they were satisfied with safety standards and that companies payed attention to their well-being.
“Now safety steps are exercised more efficiently than before and we can’t enter the site without putting on helmets and safety jackets,” said Vikram Setu, a Nepalese construction worker employed at a site in Mussaffah.
“Generally safety rules are followed on site but if any unfortunate thing has to happen, it will happen. Nobody can stop it.”
Indian welder Ramesh Katihar said accidents occurred when labourers were working under pressure and in extreme heat during summer.
“Working under pressure is bad. Mostly things go wrong when workers toil in the heat and work in tension, then they make mistakes and accidents occur.
“For safety there are plenty of rules but there are always some lapses at the site,” Mr Katihar said.
Bangladeshi Mohesenul Haque said labourers were often put under pressure to meet construction deadlines.
“Working under pressure is risky, but we have no option but to work in any conditions.”
A fire at the under-construction Fountain Views Towers close to Dubai Mall this month highlighted the need for strict safety rules on building sites. Four people were rescued from the tower after the blaze started on a fifth-floor parking level being used to store construction materials.
Also this month, inspectors visited building sites in Al Khalidiya on the western part of Abu Dhabi Island to encourage safe working conditions.
In August last year 13 people were injured and hundreds of workers and hotel guests moved to safety when a fire broke out in an unfinished building in Al Zahiyah.
Several cases of scaffolding coming away from buildings and collapsing have also been reported in the capital in recent years while in February in Ajman, 12 vehicles were damaged after scaffolding fell from a construction site on Sheikh Khalifa Road in Al Nuaimiya.
Also in February, high winds were blamed after a crane toppled over on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai, injuring one person and damaging a hotel and several vehicles.
anwar@thenational.ae
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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.”
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
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
