₦airaland Forum

VocalWalls:
what most people don't realize is that these massive buildings which has granted this country its modern civilization are mostly constructed and built by workers; the majority of which are expats in the UAE and which have been denied their respective wages for months by the companies which they're working for.

The process of recruiting these workers is simple; companies would typically post ads or contact foreign recruitment/ employment agencies based in multiple countries (Mostly Southeast Asian countries; i.e. Nepal, Pakistan, Afghansitan, India, The Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, China etc..) to recruit workers for them. The agencies would act as the middle man been the two; they would find those interested in working abroad, or in the tempting offers and swaying promises made by the construction companies. The recruitment agencies would help the workers fill in their application forms & necessary documents for the job and the visa and assist them in booking their airline tickets once their visa has been approved. Ultimately they would get a fee from the workers and a percentage from the company.


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The unsuspected laborers would take off to their destination in the hopes of being paid a high salary; and making a fortune to support their families back home.

Unfortunately, once they land in the UAE they are given a lengthy contract to sign with the company, taken to their accommodation, and their passports are stripped away from them and kept by their employers. This makes them unable to leave the country unless they obtain their passports back somehow, some of them never do and are trapped for years.

If that wasn't bad enough, the workers are made to stay in terrible accommodation. The places they are kept in are unhygienic and filthy for people to live in. Some are kept in old buildings, just on the outskirts of the city they helped build.

The issue has generated some controversy and international attention by the media, when a couple of journalists investigated the situation. Here are some pictures that's been taken by an Iranian investigative journalist who did an article about the mistreatment of these expats


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The workers are forced to share a room, sometimes 7–8 workers share one room to sleep in.

They are not offered running water for showering or cooking, and they aren't offered proper cooking facilities either. Which means most of the time they are forced to find unconventional means to cook for themselves.

Due to the lack of sufficient plumbing the men’s living compartment are engulfed by a river of sewage.

Some are paid as little as €150 a month, some are paid nothing whatsoever. Most are unable to protest, unable to leave because they don't have their passports & are forced to stay & complete their contract work agreement.

Most are in debt back home, because they had to take loans and borrow money to pay the agencies, and buy an airline ticket and their minimum wage income isn't helping them pay off their debts or support their families back home or themselves.

The working conditions themselves are atrocious, workers are forced to work for as long as 12 hours per day, sometimes more. They are made to work during day shifts, even when the temperature outside reaches 50 Celsius, workers have to work under the sun.

The UAE government officials have been criticized for allowing such treatment to take place. However, the government’s response was to deny such accusations & ensure all the migrant workers in the UAE are treated well and are taken care of by their employers. Even if reality revealed otherwise.

A lot of this is termed Modern slavery. A mini documentary made by Vice has been uploaded into YouTube in which reporter Ben Anderson poses as a British tourist and exposes the mistreatment of migrant workers in the UAE. I know it's a bet outdated, but this remains a pressing issue that's still going on till this day.

Exactly the points. Modern slavery!

bakingsoda:
Your friend or YOU paid 500k to travel to Dubai for a job of 65k! Okay.
My prayer for you: Anyhow it turns out may Allah make it easy and positive for you. Amin

Amen

what can i say

nellybadas:
I think he made the wrong move by reporting the company. He is in a foreign land and should thread carefully. A company that already had agreement signed without him. The agent too is shady if you ask me. The best he can do now is mend fences with the company. To avoid damaging his reputation and being deported. Look for a way to Resign on health grounds and count his losses.

Thanks

Vanpascore:
Not like dat sir, with what d agent sent after recieving d message quoted, that his action may lead to deportation, could it just be a treat?? Cos he himself had called several time for d guy to go for medicals and sign all d rejected documents

Made the very wrong move.

Labourers are more or less slaves here,but don't tell me he doesn't know what he was getting into because due to all this complains

MOL made it mandatory dat you must sign your contract in your home country. So am sure he did dat....


Wish he had an adviser b4 he took dat step.

Tell him to go back to naija and wait for the 'Change' promised

buzzybrain88:
believe it or not Nigeria is much more better to hustle Dan Dubai,i returned back after 3 months working in a construction company.dat is not a job,its slavery.african and Asian rights are not respected at all.my master (mudin)wanted to kill me with work,i work 7 to 7.they don't lift a finger to do anything,depending on us like slaves.an Arab man killed a Nigerian delta girl in Doha Qatar,till tomorrow d case was melted down.there is a court to report abuse cases,but little is done abt it.MR JULIUS IDAHOSA is an agent in egbeda that collected 500k from me to do d company visa.am coming for him cos he is still holding my passport.DIO GRACIA STO E EUROPA.n nonsense agents.theives

Had he know!!!

dabongys:
All those threats issued to him by the company's agents are only aimed at one thing which is "covering all the impersonation, arm-twisting agreements and rip-off". Tell your friend not to back out. He should pursue the matter and not be too desperate and settle for what he didn't agree to when he parted with his 500k. He should go if invited by the company and tell them exactly what happened. If room is given for any negotiations, he should state clearly his expectations and negotiate with full confidence. If he is deported and gets back here, he should use every resource at his disposal to give the Nigerian agent (who took his money) sleepless nights and get his money back if possible. 65k a month is nothing to stay and suffer in a foreign land for.

Thank you sir.

jericco1:
I don't know if I have comprehension issue, first off, why was the ultimatum given to him in the first place, secondly what agreements did he have with his agent prior to his leaving Nigeria Thirdly, were those documents necessary?

1. The ultimatum was that he should go and settle amicably with his employer before d labour complaint office will take it up
2. The agent here in Nigeria did nt show him anything until when he got there and he was given those documents, already signed he only gave him his visa. The agreement was that he will work for two years with this company, but the work is not what he can do, purely laborer, under that hell sun. He is begging for 6months so as to move to another work which is a bit releaved
3. Not all are necessary as d company does nt want to release him bt the medicals are compulsory

moshino:
When you tell the truth, you'll get a helpful answer. Is it YOU or YOUR FRIEND, that is having this problem? Do NOT insult people's intelligence!

Guy na my friend. He called me to help him as he is confused and could not know how to express himself. Besides, no one is insulting any body's intelligence, advice is needed. Thanks

YOU WILL BE DEPORTED SINCE YOUR CLAIMING YOU HAVE SENSE. MANAGE THE 65K, ENDURE, ENGAGE IN DIPLOMA THERE AND LATER AFTER SERVING THE COMPANY, YOU MOVE TO A HIGH PAYING ONE. MARK MY WORDS, IF YOU DON'T DO THIS, YOUR BACK HERE

owagbeba:
Guy. You are still on a visa. You don't have labor card yet, no residence permit.

The process requires you on arrival to sign a labor contract, apply/undergo for medical test, apply for emirates iD.
For now he's still on a visa. The company can cancel his visa and he will be required to leave the country.

If he doesn't want to do the work, then let him inform the company to cancel the visa. Forget about all those glorifying jobs you were promised. It's pure slave labor at 1000aed monthly with crammed hostel accommodation.
At labor office you can never win!

Bro, yu got it. He later got a better job, bt no opportunity to do dat. After cancellation, it means he is comming back home, dat is his fear. Thanks

1. Why would he refuse to do medicals? Anything to hide?

2. Why accost the company director when you know he did not give the job?

3. Why not accost your so-called agent when issue first began? Did agent not explain to you the conditions of service before applying?

4. Why go report a legitimate company to a government office in a country you know you're not a citizen of and did not go there through direct means?

5. Why listen to another Nigerian worker you know came through similar means? You nor sabi say blind man nor de lead blind man? Do you know his know condition might be worst than yours and wanted to see if that report route works for you before going to report his?

Solution

You have made your condition open before the company director and have further exacerbated the issue by complaining to a government office which means you can't escape any which way.

Either you go back and withdraw the case filed to cut short the 48hrs notice and also for you to look for another job cause the director would make sure job becomes hotter for you.

Last option brother will be to jejely come back home to the hustle.

Vanpascore:
Dear Nairalanders, pls your urgent advice is needed as we have 48 hrs ultimatum. A friend of mine travelled to Dubai two months ago with the aim that d place will be a better place for him bt on getting there, the opposite was met. He went there through an agent in Nigeria here who has a partner in d UAE. He applied for working visa which he was given two years by a company there. The problem started when he got the visa and occupation written on it is "Ordinary Labourer" as he applied for welding work, but the agent told him that, that is UAE style since he is going there as a technician. On getting there, he was welcomed by the company and he started work the third day as a labourer, real one. With this, he was given some documents which have been signed on his behalf, he was surprised as the documents contains employee -employer agreement. He called the agents both the one in Nigeria and UAE immediately what he saw, but the agents said he should be enduring.

To cut the story short, the work is a typical slavery work, though he is collecting about 65K/month as wage, when converted to naira. Now the problem is that other documents he needed to sign, he refused because of those conditions and since then, the agents have been begging him to sign. Also, there was a need for him to do medicals, he also refused and fortunately for him, he met one of the directors in the company and explain things to him bt the man answered him to write cancellation letter so that he can be sent back to Nigeria. But he did not want to waste almost 500k he paid this agent.


Now a Nigerian he met there directed him to go to the labour complaint office in Dubai, which he did and he got this reply from d labour office today "A complaint application number (MB165125948AE ) has been made on company number (488063 ) from employee (CHARLES UGO ) having work permit number ( 65600814), we hope that both of you would mutually discuss on this complaints during next 48 working hours before it gets registered on the company." Now the problem, this message has been forwarded to the company, the company has forwarded it to the agent in Dubai and the agent now called him and said he has made a great mistake by reporting that he may be deported and banned for one year from entering UAE.

Pls Nairalanders, 48hrs has started about 4hrs ago, the company may call on him in d next 4/5 hrs, what should he do? Is it true that he may be deported based on this?? Pls your sincere advice is needed. c

Sorry it's a threat and i prefer he refused the offer of Charles ugo cos if he accepts it now and the day he refuses the company may report him to immigration and besides i don't think a legit company can make someone suffer that much plus this is what happens in most agent cases even here in China and when they tell you you made a big mistake by reporting them it indirectly means they are in a very big trouble not you

Vanpascore:
Dear Nairalanders, pls your urgent advice is needed as we have 48 hrs ultimatum. A friend of mine travelled to Dubai two months ago with the aim that d place will be a better place for him bt on getting there, the opposite was met. He went there through an agent in Nigeria here who has a partner in d UAE. He applied for working visa which he was given two years by a company there. The problem started when he got the visa and occupation written on it is "Ordinary Labourer" as he applied for welding work, but the agent told him that, that is UAE style since he is going there as a technician. On getting there, he was welcomed by the company and he started work the third day as a labourer, real one. With this, he was given some documents which have been signed on his behalf, he was surprised as the documents contains employee -employer agreement. He called the agents both the one in Nigeria and UAE immediately what he saw, but the agents said he should be enduring.

To cut the story short, the work is a typical slavery work, though he is collecting about 65K/month as wage, when converted to naira. Now the problem is that other documents he needed to sign, he refused because of those conditions and since then, the agents have been begging him to sign. Also, there was a need for him to do medicals, he also refused and fortunately for him, he met one of the directors in the company and explain things to him bt the man answered him to write cancellation letter so that he can be sent back to Nigeria. But he did not want to waste almost 500k he paid this agent.


Now a Nigerian he met there directed him to go to the labour complaint office in Dubai, which he did and he got this reply from d labour office today "A complaint application number (MB165125948AE ) has been made on company number (488063 ) from employee (CHARLES UGO ) having work permit number ( 65600814), we hope that both of you would mutually discuss on this complaints during next 48 working hours before it gets registered on the company." Now the problem, this message has been forwarded to the company, the company has forwarded it to the agent in Dubai and the agent now called him and said he has made a great mistake by reporting that he may be deported and banned for one year from entering UAE.

Pls Nairalanders, 48hrs has started about 4hrs ago, the company may call on him in d next 4/5 hrs, what should he do? Is it true that he may be deported based on this?? Pls your sincere advice is needed. c

There a guy residing around my area, he meets me most times when I'm about to drive out, he has been asking me to borrow him money to complete his process of going to Dubai. he just needs like 200k more.
should I give im?

Originalsly post=47647395
:
Hmmm..... why is your friend prefer to live in slavery rather than return home? At 65k per month.... minus living expenses.... how long would it take to break even?...or be back home with 500k in your pocket?
For now...forget about the agent. Face the company and make your demands. The company is more afraid of facing the authorities which can look into their hiring practices. They are hoping you cave in like soooo many others. If nothing else.... let them settle with you for 500K..... then return home.

From his investigations, the company also paid all the expenses to those agents, same with my guy. Bro those agents, na thief thief dem be o, and if yu see ds one in Naija, he looks like a man of God, by Dasuki is better than him

tobey2ng:
Let him sign the document and plead with the company for his mistake,He can change job after 6 months.Let him just use this job as a stepping stone to enter dubai.He can always change his job after 6months on a job.Thats the method over there.Wish him the best

Thanks sir

janellemonae:
The thing is d employer and d authourities don't care. Dubai is a large construction ground (wt 25% of the worlds cranes building one thing or the other). They need cheap labour for constructions everyday. Dts why they give these labourer work visas freely. The govt cares more about the multimillion dollar construction company getting the job done than the immigrant construction worker.

Maybe he should try getting a job in another sector & extend his visa.

His visa has bn collected from him, he has seen a lot of better job himself but the company has his documents and they are not ready to bring the agreement to 6mnths

latolak:
I've been in Qatar for over three years now and I can relate to the situation.

This issue is a mathematical one. in 10 months of hard labour(that's what it is) you cannot save up the amount you spent for the visa. You have chosen a battle by reporting your employer. It's wise to follow it through and see what comes up. Do you want to spend more money on a lawyer?I don't think so. On the other hand, you can find a way to beg your employer and feign ignorance of the system.

It sounds hard to take but its best to leave the country because you are unable to seek for a new job for up to a year(if that's what your contract says). If you return and drag the issue with the evil agents, you might be able to get some change to keep you going for a while.

Thanks man

Vanpascore:
Are you saying he should accept all those put on him and settle for 2years because d PRO of d company has made him to realize that they can not bring the contract down to 6months from 2years

Ur friend think say na suit & tie job Him wan go do there before?



Even had the guts to report. Can U even try that in Nigeria?




Excessive Unreasonable courage is really not good ooooo

Fidecoo:
. Ask your friend if the company that employed him is a "FREE zone company". If it is,tell him to b patient and withdraw the case.and after 6six months he can cancel his contract and look for a better job.

I have sent him amessage, immediately he replied i will get back you, thanks

Atmmachine:
I support his deportation.
He's reaping the fruit of his foolishness.
I hate these people called Agents and also the people who use them, only foolish people uses Agents, That thing wey the agent go do, you can do it by yourself.


Why would i pay 500k for Dubai visa ?? I can't give someone 5k for shitty Dubai visa.

Let this be a lesson to you, next time read, read again, re-read again, because the terms and condition and the duration of the job was written on the papers.

My guy gave an agent 500 thousand naira for ordinary Dubai visa, how much did it cost me to get an American visa ?? Just 160k, The guy foolishly went to Dubai with a one month visa, he's now in Lagos begging for money

You made a Good point, but calm down with all the abuses

janellemonae:
Even for an expense paid holiday? Really? Dubai is a very popular tourist destination dt rich people all over Europe & d rest of d world enjoy going to. I just wonder what ur reasons are.

Even though i am aware of Dubai's glamours, I wouldn't go to Dubai for vacation because of how they treat migrants of African origin, almost like slaves is some cases.

Vanpascore:
1. The ultimatum was that he should go and settle amicably with his employer before d labour complaint office will take it up
2. The agent here in Nigeria did nt show him anything until when he got there and he was given those documents, already signed he only gave him his visa. The agreement was that he will work for two years with this company, but the work is not what he can do, purely laborer, under that hell sun. He is begging for 6months so as to move to another work which is a bit releaved
3. Not all are necessary as d company does nt want to release him bt the medicals are compulsory

he didn't even see the documents prior to leaving, he probably trusted his agent who eventually misled him.
Advice: let him do the medicals and look for a way to leave that country.

Atmmachine:
I support his deportation.
He's reaping the fruit of his foolishness.
I hate these people called Agents and also the people who use them, only foolish people uses Agents, That thing wey the agent go do, you can do it by yourself.


Why would i pay 500k for Dubai visa ?? I can't give someone 5k for shitty Dubai visa.

Let this be a lesson to you, next time read, read again, re-read again, because the terms and condition and the duration of the job was written on the papers.

My guy gave an agent 500 thousand naira for ordinary Dubai visa, how much did it cost me to get an American visa ?? Just 160k, The guy foolishly went to Dubai with a one month visa, he's now in Lagos begging for money

I hope you are not planning to stay permanently in America with that visa? If you are, you are just planning to come and suffer indignities you can only dream off in your worst nightmares.

Come back home and make my people rich.

Find another job, after getting the job, request for an offer letter, after explain to the new company about the situation at hand, they will give you an NOC to take to the labour and explain to them due to your health you cant afford to work under the sun and the job will be too much hectic to you. IF you have any backup to claim the agent didn't inform you about working as a labourer in a construction company, use that as an backup. the labour will give the new company a grace of one month to process your visa since you already paid for an employment visa. call me for any assistant 0525220445 victor. and not these please even if the company terminate your contract you will be given a one month grace and you can still get another job with faith.

GAZZUZZ:
It is you not a friend.

You were warned before travelling.

I have no pity for people like the OP's friend. When you tell them the hard truth about life outside Nigeria they feel you are an enemy.He preferred to listen to People and his agent who painted rosy pictures of Dubai instead. Now reality has hit him.

Vanpascore:
Dear Nairalanders, pls your urgent advice is needed as we have 48 hrs ultimatum. A friend of mine travelled to Dubai two months ago with the aim that d place will be a better place for him bt on getting there, the opposite was met. He went there through an agent in Nigeria here who has a partner in d UAE. He applied for working visa which he was given two years by a company there. The problem started when he got the visa and occupation written on it is "Ordinary Labourer" as he applied for welding work, but the agent told him that, that is UAE style since he is going there as a technician. On getting there, he was welcomed by the company and he started work the third day as a labourer, real one. With this, he was given some documents which have been signed on his behalf, he was surprised as the documents contains employee -employer agreement. He called the agents both the one in Nigeria and UAE immediately what he saw, but the agents said he should be enduring.

To cut the story short, the work is a typical slavery work, though he is collecting about 65K/month as wage, when converted to naira. Now the problem is that other documents he needed to sign, he refused because of those conditions and since then, the agents have been begging him to sign. Also, there was a need for him to do medicals, he also refused and fortunately for him, he met one of the directors in the company and explain things to him bt the man answered him to write cancellation letter so that he can be sent back to Nigeria. But he did not want to waste almost 500k he paid this agent.


Now a Nigerian he met there directed him to go to the labour complaint office in Dubai, which he did and he got this reply from d labour office today "A complaint application number (MB165125948AE ) has been made on company number (488063 ) from employee (CHARLES UGO ) having work permit number ( 65600814), we hope that both of you would mutually discuss on this complaints during next 48 working hours before it gets registered on the company." Now the problem, this message has been forwarded to the company, the company has forwarded it to the agent in Dubai and the agent now called him and said he has made a great mistake by reporting that he may be deported and banned for one year from entering UAE.

Pls Nairalanders, 48hrs has started about 4hrs ago, the company may call on him in d next 4/5 hrs, what should he do? Is it true that he may be deported based on this?? Pls your sincere advice is needed. c

Too late to make any amends now. If he takes the job after raising hell the company will treat him worse than normal.
This is the problem with Nig agents in Nig, they tell people all the bla bla bla because people are desperate to get jobs in UAE. They collect outrageous fees without telling you the reality in ground.
Even you tell people the truth they still don't believe they all sorts of imaginary lies. As a technician, your visa is an ordinary labourer visa. Those jobs are very poor paying and you work heavy and live minimum. You will have to endure for a year or two to get experience and understand the system. N65k job is terrible by UAE standards. Not enough to have 3 average meals a day talk less of something to send home for savings. As a Nig, you can't cope with such pay especially if you were imagining "BIG".
Let him go home and prepare for another year. Reporting a company to the Labour ministry is not always favourable especially when you have not even worked for some months to have real proofs. So sad though.

@OP,well I say a very big congratulations to you and your friend.What has happened has happened and I mean regarding the 500k he paid for his travelling.Talking about his report to the Labour he has done the best and I want you to know that both the agents and the company are at the receiving end right now cause according to the letter from letter it isn't directed to the complainant ,it was simply telling the company to resolve it amicably with the employee before the case gets registered with them and when it does the company's image is at risk with the Labour court .secondly please,tell your friend NOT ,I repeat NOT to sign the CANCELLATION LETTER ,Please that is very important cause if he does he is simply telling the Labour court that he's the one willing to go which he Will not be entitled to any compensation,like 2 months to search for another job if he doesn't want to be with company and some other things.And lastly op there is nothing like 1 year or 6 months ban in UAE again it has been scraped since the beginningo f this year.There Labour law is effective in this country ,and if you are wondering how sure I am my wife as had 2 companies taken to Labour court and we won.Thanks and best of Luck.

janellemonae:
Even for an expense paid holiday? Really? Dubai is a very popular tourist destination dt rich people all over Europe & d rest of d world enjoy going to. I just wonder what ur reasons are.

he probably has his reasons. i personally would not visit any arab country for vacation or holiday.

Atmmachine:
I support his deportation.
He's reaping the fruit of his foolishness.
I hate these people called Agents and also the people who use them, only foolish people uses Agents, That thing wey the agent go do, you can do it by yourself.


Why would i pay 500k for Dubai visa ?? I can't give someone 5k for shitty Dubai visa.

Let this be a lesson to you, next time read, read again, re-read again, because the terms and condition and the duration of the job was written on the papers.

My guy gave an agent 500 thousand naira for ordinary Dubai visa, how much did it cost me to get an American visa ?? Just 160k, The guy foolishly went to Dubai with a one month visa, he's now in Lagos begging for money

Why call someone fool for spending 500k on a Dubai visa, all becos you only spent 160k on your America visa?

What if I told you that, I spent zero Naira, yes 0.00 Naira on my America visa and my intending employer had to even send me money to complete my certifications, while the visa is been processed, will you feel like a bigger fool for spending 160k for a mere America visa?

People mileage differs and valuation on the same item differs from one individual to the other.