The UAE raises the standards of worker safety and well-being to advanced levels

Abu Dhabi, June 15 / WAM / The UAE continues its efforts to enhance workers’ rights and provide a safe and sustainable work environment through an integrated system of legislation and policies that place the worker’s health, safety and quality of life among its priorities, in a way that supports economic development and social stability.

The UAE focuses on developing occupational health and safety standards and implementing best practices that protect workers and raise their level of well-being, based on the consideration of the human element as an essential partner in the development process, which enhances the country’s position as a preferred global destination for living, working and investing.

In this context, today, Monday, the implementation of the “Policy to Protect Workers from Heat Stress” will begin for the twenty-second year in a row, starting from June 15 until September 15, 2026, and it includes a ban on working under direct sunlight daily from 12:30 noon until three p.m.

The continued implementation of this policy reflects the humanitarian approach followed by the state in regulating the labor market, which contributes to enhancing workers’ productivity and maintaining their safety, especially in light of the provision of more than 12,000 air-conditioned rest rooms equipped with amenities for delivery service workers in various regions of the country.

These measures are integrated with the state’s efforts to enhance job stability and guarantee the financial rights of workers, as the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation issued a decision to unify the first day of every Gregorian month as the due date for wages for workers in the private sector, starting from June 2026, while obligating establishments to pay through the wage protection system according to specific controls, in a way that enhances transparency and discipline of salary disbursement, strengthens the stability of labor relations, and raises the efficiency of governance and the competitiveness of the labor market.

In terms of workers’ well-being and their integration into society, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation began implementing a wide package of social and humanitarian initiatives during the year 2026, which included various national, religious and international occasions.

The Ministry implemented its Ramadan programs under the slogan “Ramadan brings us together with our workers,” which included distributing Ramadan food and iftar meals in various regions of the country, in addition to setting up 3 Ramadan tents to break the fast in cooperation with the Emirates Red Crescent Authority, the Beit Al Khair Society, and the Food Bank, which provided a collective atmosphere that reflects the spirit of the holy month and its human values.

The Ministry continued to celebrate workers on holidays and occasions, as it distributed gifts on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr in appreciation of their giving, and organized Eid al-Adha activities in 30 locations with the participation of about 300,000 workers under the slogan “Making our workers happy is the joy of our holidays,” which included entertainment and competitive activities and draws for valuable prizes.

In the same context, the Ministry’s program to celebrate International Workers’ Day on May 1 included more than 18 initiatives and activities in more than 40 locations, which included sports tournaments such as cricket and labor running, in addition to honoring workers and visiting them at their work sites and distributing gifts in commercial centers, in appreciation of their daily efforts and enhancing their status in society.

These various events, in addition to field initiatives implemented by local authorities, which included awareness programs, sports events, and happiness initiatives that included hundreds of thousands of workers, confirm that the UAE is demonstrating a sustainable approach in enhancing the quality of life of the workforce, thus consolidating its position as a global model in workers’ well-being and their human and social stability.

Official indicators and statistics for the year 2025 reflect the progress made by the UAE in promoting workers’ rights and ensuring their well-being, as well as the efficiency of the systems and policies used in protecting their financial, health and social interests.

The percentage of workers registered in the wage protection system reached 99% of the total number of workers in the private sector, which is the same percentage as the beneficiaries of the labor benefits insurance program, from which more than 38 thousand workers benefited, with total amounts exceeding 300 million dirhams until the end of the year 2025.

Workers’ registration in the unemployment insurance system reached about 90% of the targeted workers, with compensation exceeding 350 million dirhams from the beginning of 2024 until the end of 2025.

On the awareness level, all targeted workers completed mandatory orientation programs in 17 languages, while more than 3 million workers benefited from specialized awareness programs.

In terms of housing, more than 2,700 companies registered in the workers’ housing system, benefiting about 1.9 million workers in accordance with the highest standards of occupational safety and health, which reflects the state’s commitment to ensuring the quality of workers’ lives and their comprehensive well-being.

The UAE, as one of the largest countries receiving foreign workers and a member of the International Labor Organization, the Arab Labor Organization, and a number of multilateral organizations concerned with labor affairs, affirms its commitment to the principles of transparency and objectivity in fulfilling its obligations towards expatriate workers, in a way that strengthens the rights protection system and enshrines the best international practices in this field.

The state continues to carry out a comprehensive and integrated assessment of all stages of the work cycle, starting with recruitment and employment procedures, through the work environment, and ending with the provision of appropriate housing, ensuring that the rights of all workers are preserved and that they are treated on a basis of respect and equality, in addition to enabling them to report labor disputes or cases of ill-treatment with ease and reliability through approved channels.

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