UAE protests: Many Indians among those to be deported

According to Khaleej Times, several hundred other workers of the same local contracting company also face deportation on similar charges of having indulged in violence and damaging public and private properties. They have been put under tight security in their labour camp in Jebel Ali, the paper quoted a senior police official as saying.

“Their labour permits have already been cancelled by the Ministry of Labour and a life ban has been put on their entry to the UAE. The majority of labourers deported or facing deportation are reported to be of Asian origin,” he told the paper. “The riot police has cordoned off their labour camp in Jebel Ali, while Dubai police officials and security agencies have been put on high alert,” he said. The protesting labourers were demanding higher salary and better working conditions.

Officials at the Indian Embassy said they were in touch with the local police and labour authorities to sort out the issue. But the local authorities are keen on taking tough action against the workers.

Police helicopter units captured the violence on camera while it was in progress on Saturday, the senior official told Khaleej Times, adding all those who participated in the violence are identified on police video tapes and will be prosecuted and face legal action.

In another incident, several hundred labourers of a local engineering firm staged a violent protest in Al Ghusais. They blocked the road and smashed windscreens of company buses and window panes of a nearby building under construction.

Brigadier Mohammed Al Marri, Head of the Permanent Committee for Labour Affairs (PCLA) said: “Our officials have intervened in an effort to conciliate the situation. They are also in touch with the employers and the company management to ensure that an amicable solution can be reached at the earliest.” Meanwhile, workers of a local contracting company in Jebel Ali staged a protest on Sunday demanding a hike in salary. The police reached the site immediately and persuaded them to disperse.