Unemployment insurance will soon be available in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The council certainly made a crucial decision on Monday. However, this new policy that the Gulf nation has undertaken is a way to lure talent and investment as the region’s economic competitiveness rises. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum claimed on Twitter that covered employees will receive some money. This will happen if they are unemployed for a limited period of time, citing a cabinet decision. The UAE Prime Minister is also the ruler of Dubai.
The statement did not suggest if this fairly applied to local residents and non-citizen residents. Permission to remain in Gulf countries like the UAE, where foreigners account for 85 percent of the population, has always been linked to occupation, and losing a job or unemployment usually means leaving the country.
“The intention is to strengthen labor market competitiveness, provide a social umbrella for workers and establish a stable working environment for all,” the statement said.
New quota objectives for Emirati citizens
States of the Gulf Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, etc have all offered some type of unemployment assistance to their residents. Bahrain provides a form of unemployment insurance for non-citizen workers. Moreover, like Saudi Arabia, the largest Gulf state opening up its economy, the UAE has pushed to maintain an advantage over its neighbor. It will offer new visa categories and progressive policies to attract and keep qualified workers and their families.
To align with global markets, the UAE converted to a Saturday-Sunday weekend this year. Moreover, it has also changed many rules and regulations in the last 18 months. It includes decriminalizing alcohol consumption and premarital cohabitation. By 2026, it expects Emirati nationals to make up 10% of private-sector employees in enterprises with at least 50 employees, with rates growing 2% every year until then. The cabinet also set new quota objectives for Emirati citizens working in the private sector. Thereby, continuing a long-standing program known as “Emiratization.”
