"Police defuse labourers' strike on Abu Dhabi's Reem Island", 11 November 2018

Abu Dhabi Police defused a strike by hundreds of labourers who protested at their company's alleged failure to pay wages on time... Workers from the privately-owned contractor said they had not been paid for three months. Some said they had a five-month backlog in wages... Two years ago the UAE Cabinet passed a decree to allow the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs... The company involved, a general contractor tasked with fitting out high rise buildings, declined to comment but staff at the company's head office told The National that HR managers had been sent to the labour accommodation to settle the dispute with their employees... If wages are 10 days late... the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days. Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector, and the authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi...