The National Bank recommends amending the salary scale and simplifying the conditions for housing assistance

The Federal National Council, headed by Council Speaker Saqr Ghobash, and in the presence of the Minister of Family, Sanaa bint Mohammed Suhail, discussed the topic of “Protecting the Family, Its Concept, and Its Entity,” during its fourth session of the third regular session of the 18th legislative term, which was held yesterday, in Zayed Hall at the Council’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi.

Saqr Ghobash began the session by affirming that the declaration of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, may God protect him, of the year 2026 as the Year of the Family, constitutes an inspiring national message that places the family at the top of priorities, as the first incubator of values and identity, and the basic pillar of social cohesion, stressing that the Council is a strategic partner of the government in assuming responsibility for the success of this vision, and that the session’s discussions aim to come up with recommendations that support this national trend, and the Council adopted – After extensive discussions that included the issues of challenges affecting family formation, threats to family security, and the impact of social changes – a number of important recommendations were decided to be referred to the Committee of Social Affairs, Labor, Population and Human Resources, to be reformulated in light of the members’ contributions. The Council’s discussions were based on a comprehensive report, prepared by the Committee of Social Affairs, Labor, Population and Human Resources, and the Council approved its summary before commencing the discussion, as the report explained that the Committee had held a series of meetings since the issue was referred to it in the session of December 4, 2024. واطلعت على دراسات وأوراق بحثية ونتائج مقابلات مع الخبراء والمختصين، كما تدارست البيانات والمعلومات الواردة من الجهات المعنية، ممثلة في وزارة الأسرة، ووزارة تمكين المجتمع، ووزارة العدل، والهيئة الاتحادية للموارد البشرية الحكومية، والهيئة الاتحادية للهوية والجنسية والجمارك وأمن المنافذ، ووافق المجلس على إحالة مشروع قانون اتحادي وارد من الحكومة بشأن مكافحة الأمراض السارية إلى لجنة الشؤون الصحية والبيئية لدراسته وإعداد تقرير بشأنه، كما شهدت الجلسة توجيه أسئلة برلمانية عدة، تركزت حول ملف “Public housing that has exceeded its intended lifespan,” and “Social support for people of determination.”

The Council recommended the necessity of amending the executive regulations of Federal Decree Law No. 23 of 2024 regarding social support and empowerment, by adding provisions stipulating the automatic disbursement of a “Federal Condolence Allowance” to the widow within 10 days from the date of notification of the death incident, and issuing a decision from the Council of Ministers, based on Federal Decree Law No. 23 of 2024 regarding social support and empowerment, to establish “the national system for immediate electronic notification of the incident.” death,” defines the competencies of the participating entities and electronic connectivity mechanisms, as well as the establishment of an integrated federal platform under the name “The Leading Widow” concerned with empowering widows, enhancing their role in building the family and society, and creating a unified federal system for the right to “housing for widows” after the death of their husbands, guaranteeing them residence in the marital residence with the possibility of temporary extension or conditional use after the waiting period in the event that a suitable housing alternative is not available. The recommendations called for the establishment of a national fund for maintenance, which would guarantee Disbursing the adjudicated expenses to the beneficiaries immediately and continuously, in cases where the husband is unable to pay the alimony, with the possibility of recourse against the husband for the amounts disbursed and through the established legal methods, in addition to developing programs for fathers after separation to attend “free psychological and social” counseling sessions that focus on strengthening cooperation between parents for the benefit of the children.

The Council members called for reformulating the relationship between the labor market and family cohesion by providing the option of early departure for women working in the federal government, supporting non-working mothers, by creating incentives and monthly financial allocations, and adopting legislative initiatives to support divorced older citizens.

The Council recommended protecting the family and its members from domestic violence, amending Federal Decree Law No. 13 of 2024 regarding protection from domestic violence by stipulating the requirement to conduct a behavioral psychological evaluation before concluding any reconciliation, prohibiting the offer of a settlement in the event of repeated abuse or if the victim is a child, a person of determination, pregnant or the elderly, strengthening family awareness programs about domestic violence and prevention mechanisms, and reviewing the family protection guide to include an integrated aftercare system. And rehabilitation for victims of domestic violence.

The recommendations called for a balance between the participation of the Emirati mother in the labor market and her family role, by issuing a regulatory decision to the federal authorities, which specifies a specific national classification of jobs, in terms of their suitability for flexible work and remote work. It also sets specific time frames for deciding on requests, and implementing flexible work and remote work in the government and private sectors in a binding manner, especially for priority groups (mothers of children under 12 years old, caring for the elderly and people of determination). The recommendations also called for amending maternity leave in the government sector to 98 days as a paid minimum, to be consistent with global practices, provided that maternity leave is allowed to be divided after childbirth, especially in cases where a woman has premature children, and activating Ministerial Resolution No. 19/2006 regarding the establishment of nurseries in institutions that have not adhered to it, in addition to making women working in the private sector equal to the government sector, by launching a national program that grants incentives “tax exemptions, priority in government purchases, reduced fees, and institutional honoring for institutions that adopt policies that support the family.” The recommendations included transferring the affiliation of correctional and family guidance centers from the courts to the Ministry of Family, with the aim of achieving social, preventive and professional integration in dealing with family issues, and amending the UAE Minister of Justice’s Resolution No. 554 of 2021 regarding the family guidance regulation, by obligating family mentors to obtain specialized academic qualification (psychology/social service/family guidance), and to undergo professional accreditation courses in family mediation, with the introduction of a licensing and periodic renewal system for them, in addition to expanding the role of correctional centres. And family guidance, to include the preventive role and follow-up of cases after reconciliation or separation in the long term, and not be limited to the remedial role of the problem only, and developing a package of material and moral incentives that are attractive to the family mentor profession (such as financial benefits, a clear career path, and specialized training programs), which contributes to increasing the demand for this profession, in addition to amending Cabinet Resolution No. 3 of 2015 regarding the organization of non-governmental family counseling centers and its amendments, by stipulating the nationalization of the technical staff. The administrative process is part of a gradual nationalization process, with the requirement that the center director or technical supervisor be a citizen, in addition to issuing a professional regulation for work ethics in family counseling centers, to adopt a national framework for the quality of family counseling.

The Council members called for reformulating the relationship between the labor market and family cohesion, by providing the option of early departure for women working in the federal government, continuing the children’s allowance until after the age of 21 if they are under the care of the head of the family, and supporting non-working mothers, by creating incentives and monthly financial allocations, addressing the challenges of young people obtaining a marriage grant, and adopting legislative initiatives to support older female citizens who are divorced.

The rapporteur of the Social Affairs, Labour, Population and Human Resources Committee, Sheikha Saeed Al Kaabi, confirmed that the rise in the cost of living and its direct impact on the ability of individuals, especially young citizens, has put pressure on the segment of employees with the lowest ranks on the career ladder in the federal government, and the high costs of marriage, which led to the postponement of marriage decisions, the lack of continuity of the salary scale in the federal government and the setting of the minimum salary. This directly affected real income, reduced the chances of young people getting married and also affected family stability. المجتمعي، وشروط الحصول على منحة الزواج ودخل الفرد، ومواءمة الرواتب مع تكاليف المعيشة، وارتفاع تكاليف الزواج ومفاقمة الأعباء المالية على الشباب، ما يتطلب توافق الحكومة على توصية اللجنة في ما يخص هذه الملاحظات، خاصة مراجعة جدول الرواتب فيما يتناسب مع المتغيرات الاقتصادية في الدولة.

For her part, the Minister of Family, Sanaa bint Muhammad Suhail, stressed the importance of the issue of the high cost of living and costs, noting that there are direct and indirect initiatives that are being worked on within the scope of the Ministry’s work, to empower the family in all aspects. However, a number of the recommendations that came in the report fall within the Ministry’s jurisdiction, and there are other recommendations within the jurisdiction of other parties, and integrated coordination will take place with the authorities concerned with this issue and appropriate solutions will be developed.

Suhail stressed that protecting children and families is a top priority in the digital space, and is working to promote a safe digital environment in integration with the relevant authorities, as coordination is currently underway between the Ministry and the National Media Authority in a number of tracks, including developing guiding standards for family-related content, launching events and supporting the production of meaningful national content that enhances Emirati national values.

She also emphasized that labor policies have a direct impact on family formation and growth decisions, which requires studying these policies and developing appropriate solutions that are in line with societal requirements and the economic situation.

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Saqr Ghobash calls on the Minister of Family to do justice to the man

The Speaker of the Federal National Council, Saqr Ghobash, praised Council member Mona Hammad’s demand that family empowerment programs include empowering men as well, and not be limited to empowering women only, as is the case. He described the intervention on a good note. Ghobash commented while addressing the Minister of Family to respond to Hammad’s intervention, joking: “You must do justice to us, Your Excellency the Minister.”

This came after a member of the Federal National Council, Mona Khalifa Hammad, called for the necessity of empowering men and that talking about the family and its initiatives should not be limited to empowering women, noting that talking about challenges does not touch at all on men, and the focus is on women and on the place of women in the family, whether working or not working, or wife, mother, divorced woman, or widow, without mentioning the head of the family, whether he works or not, even though empowering the family, in essence, is empowering the man, as he is the pillar of the family and responsible for all family members.

She said: “We talk about the productive family and productive women, but where is the empowerment of men? What initiatives do we launch to help it? We need the man to have a status adjustment, so that we can help him strengthen the foundations of his family,” she said, noting that even when talking about domestic violence, we discuss it from all sides to which a woman may be exposed, although there are cases of men being exposed to domestic violence.

For her part, the Minister of Family, Sanaa bint Muhammad Suhail, stressed in her response to Council Member, Mona Hammad, the importance of looking at all family members, whether the father, mother, children, or even the extended family, noting that there are always priorities that are looked at, and then they are expanded, so that there are programs and services targeting all family members.

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Old public housing

The Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Engineer Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, confirmed that the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, represented by the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme, has made many efforts to meet the housing needs of citizens in partnership and coordination with the relevant authorities in the country.

He said in a written response to a question from Council member Sultan Salem Al Zaabi about public housing that has exceeded its intended lifespan: “In order to overcome the limited budgets allocated, explicit controls and requirements have been put in place that confirm the necessity of the applicant not having previously obtained housing assistance from a government agency in the country, to achieve fair distribution and equal opportunities. It should also be noted that the current ownership of housing belongs to the citizen owners, and the Ministry has always been keen to spread awareness and emphasize the role of homeowners in preserving housing. Pay attention to its regular maintenance and not wait for it to deteriorate.”