Dubai Municipality: No temporary labour accommodations unless conditions met

Eng. Salem Bin Mesmar, Director of Public Health Department at the municipality who heads the newly-formed committee to follow up health and environment affairs of labourers in Dubai, said the decision was made after recent surprise visits by members of the committee to a number of temporary labour accommodations inside the city.

Permits for temporary labour accommodations at worksites were normally issued by Dubai Municipality in order to facilitate completion of projects on time. These permits are issued for six months and are renewable for similar periods according to the duration of the project.

"During recent visits, we realized that some temporary labour accommodations do not meet the set standards. Therefore, it has been decided to freeze all permits unless companies that built them improve health and environment conditions there," said Bin Mesmar.

He added that the municipality grants licenses for temporary housing in construction sites with strict requirements concerning the sleeping quarters, dining facilities, drinking water, toilet, waste removal, pest control and first aid.

"The committee will undertake future surprise visits to assess the situation of different labour accommodations within the Emirate. This operation aims to guarantee that all labour accommodations comply with health and safety regulations, and to prosecute companies whose accommodations are found to be non-compliant," added Bin Mesmar.