UAE cancels six month visa ban for foreign workers

DUBAI: In a bid to reform its labour market, the UAE has introduced a new work permit which will allow foreign workers, including Indians, in the country to switch jobs after two years without facing a six-month ban for leaving their work.

Expatriate workers in the UAE who have received a six-month ban on leaving their jobs recently will be able to obtain new work permits from the beginning of the new year, a senior official has said.

The new work permit will be issued only if they have completed two years with their former employers, Humaid Bin Deemas, Acting Director-General at the Ministry of Labour, said.

Deemas told a local radio programme that these workers will be issued new work permits from January even if they have not served the full six-month ban.

"Expatriate workers who have completed two years with their employers can change jobs without serving the ban following the implementation of the new rules," Bin Deemas said.

He said sponsors cannot force employees to continue to work for them if the workers do not wish to do so.

"If workers have quit before the completion of two years then they will not be issued labour cards until the two-year period is over," he added.

The official, however, said that if a worker, who has already cancelled his residence visa, returns to the UAE on a visit visa, he will not get a work permit before the expiry of the two-year period.

Bin Deemas said the relationship between a sponsor and a worker will end with the expiry of the labour card, which is limited to two years.

"Skilled and unskilled workers who end their contracts legally will get a labour permit," Deemas said.

The Indian community in the UAE is estimated to be around 1.75 million-strong, making it the largest expatriate community in this country. 


Source : gulfnews.com

Know Exactly where to tap it..

                                 
 
A giant ship engine failed. The ship's owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine.

Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work.
 He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.

Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer.
 He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed!
 
A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for Ten thousand rupees.
 
"What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!"

So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill."

The man sent a bill that read:

Tapping with a hammer...... ......... ........ Rs. 2.00
Knowing where to tap.......... ......... ...... Rs, 9,998.00

Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort makes all the difference
 

UAE residence visas reduced to two years from January

Labour card validity will be reduced from three years to two years for all UAE private sector workers from January next year, according to new regulations from the Ministry of Labour.

The move will have a knock-on effect on residence visas, which will also be reduced to two years.

State news agency WAM reported that the decision would lower the time that private sector employees are obliged to spend with one employer. 

The ministry also said that the new regulations would bring all private sector workers in line with drivers and domestic helpers, who only get two-year labour cards from the Department of Residency and Foreigners Affairs.

"It [the decision] will have a positive impact on the labour market as it will create more flexibility in the employer-employee relationship, and will allow both parties to this relationship a shorter time," said Humaid bin Deemas, the assistant undersecretary for labour affairs at the Ministry of Labour, according to WAM. 

Earlier this month, Minister of Labour Saqr Gobash set out new rules for Emiratisation, which will again be effective from next month.

Among the changes is a requirement for private sector firms to have no less than 15 percent of Emiratis on their workforce.

Fines for companies failing to observe the Emiratisation policy are as much as AED20,000 ($5400).

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/uae-residence-visas-reduced-two-years-from-january--366192.html?tab=Article 

Email Etiquette Guide

Jean Broke-Smith's Etiquette Guide...

 

Do create the right impression and banish the BTWs. People react to email within seconds of receiving it. As the Yahoo! research shows, text speak can be very annoying and shows a lack of correct spelling ability and laziness. It won’t impress!

Don’t offend. Using capitals is the email equivalent of SHOUTING and is perceived as being extremely rude, so make sure your caps lock is switched off.

Do include a subject line. You’ve got three seconds to grab attention when an email appears and by not including a subject in the email, the chances of it being read are greatly reduced. Use the subject line for the purpose it was made and tell people what the email is about. 

Don’t use read receipts. Read receipts demonstrate a distinct lack of trust, so avoid where possible. Follow up with a phone call if you want to ensure your message has reached the right person.

Do remember the recipient. The failsafe method for emailing is to imagine you are writing a succinct letter. Address the recipient in the correct manner and title. You can be light hearted and humorous as in any written communication, it is a just a matter of judgment. But if you don’t know the recipient, don’t be over familiar and sign off with the right degree of formality.

Don’t use CC and BCC unnecessarily. The no. 2 email bug bear is mass distribution of emails, so exercise constraint when it comes to copying people in. If the email is important to other people, simply forward to them at the end, rather than them being caught up in a never-ending email trail. Likewise use the BCC button wisely, again forward emails separately rather than ‘hiding’ other recipients.

Do take your time. Because of the instant nature of emails it is tempting to deal with them immediately, but rushing an email can lead to errors. Deal with them promptly but don’t panic and reply in haste and always check what you have written before you hit send.
 
Don’t over use ‘importance’. Before you even consider using a red exclamation mark, ask yourself is this really important? Only use when it is vital that the email is read, otherwise you are drawing unnecessary attention to yourself and it is a quick way of irritating recipients. 

Do save the kisses. Over familiarity towards your boss or work colleagues is bad etiquette, keep the love and kisses for very good friends.

Don’t email when angry. If you receive a ‘harsh’ email, read it through, then close it and walk away. Consider your response and if necessary ask someone else to read your reply before you send it, don’t fight fire with fire.

Do choose a sensible email address. Previous Yahoo! research has shown that you are less likely to land a job if you use a frivolous email address. Think about what your email address says about you as it’s an insight into your personality.

Don’t hide behind email. It is often easier to write something in words than it is to say it out loud, but don’t say something on email that you wouldn’t say in person. Emails have longevity and it can come back to haunt you!

Nice One

HI

There were about 70 scientists working on a very hectic project.

All of them were really frustrated due to the pressure of work and the demands of their boss but everyone was loyal to him and did not think of quitting the job.

One day, one scientist came to his boss and told him - Sir, I have promised to my children that I will take them to the exhibition
going on in our township. So I want to leave the office at 5 30 pm.

His boss replied "OK, You're permitted to leave the office early today"

The Scientist started working. He continued his work after lunch. As usual he got involved to such an extent that he looked at
his watch when he felt he was close to completion.The time was 8.30 PM. Suddenly he remembered of the promise he had given to his children.

He looked for his boss,,He was not there. Having told him in the morning itself, he closed everything and left for home.

Deep within himself, he was feeling guilty for having disappointed his children.He reached home. Children were not there.His
wife alone was sitting in the hall and reading magazines.

The situation was explosive, any talk would boomerang on him. His wife asked him "Would you like to have coffee or shall I
straight away serve dinner if you are hungry.

The man replied "If you would like to have coffee, I too will have but what about Children ??" Wife replied "You don't know ?? Your manager came here at 5.15 PM and has taken the children to the exhibition "

What had really happened was ... The boss who granted him permission was observing him working seriously at 5.00 PM. He thought to himself, this person will not leave the work, but if he has promised his children they should enjoy the visit to exhibition.

So he took the lead in taking them to exhibition

The boss does not have to do it everytime. But once it is done, loyalty is established.

That is why all the scientists at Thumba continued to work under their boss eventhough the stress was tremendous.

By the way , can you hazard a guess as to who the boss was..?


He was none other than Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Former President of India