Most favoured nationals: Some workers paid more, treated better

Dao Ming, who comes from a small village in Hubei province in China, and Prakash P., who hails from Bihar state in eastern India, work for a construction project in Dubai.

They work 10 hours a day doing the same job six days a week. But at the end of the month, Prakash gets Dh800 while Dao goes home with Dh500 more. (Their names and home towns changed).

Why is this happening?

Human Resource executives of private companies revealed to XPRESS that unskilled Chinese workers indeed enjoy an advantage in the construction sector, earning Dh400 to Dh500 more than their other Asian counterparts.

They attribute this situation to the firm stand taken by Beijing with UAE authorities regarding reasonable wages and better working conditions for their nationals.

Better treatment

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the HR executive of a group in which Chinese workers constitute 10 per cent of their foreign workforce, said that while unskilled Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi workers earned Dh800, with accommodation provided, their Chinese counterparts took home Dh1,200 apart from company accommodation.

The HR head of a well-known construction group said he was disgusted to hear that Bangladeshi workers in some job sites get Dh100 less than other Asian workers. "Chinese workers are reportedly treated better and earn more for the same quality of work done by their other Asian counterparts, probably because their missions are more aggressive on behalf of their governments," he said.

Indian envoy’s response

Talmiz Ahmad, the Indian Ambassador to the UAE, said he had submitted proposals on how to enhance wages and benefits for Indian workers to the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, but the "Indian government does not interfere with the free movement of labour".