Why Dubai Workers Are Suffering from the Cost of Living Crisis?

Dubai, where foreigners represent the largest number of residents, has relied for years on delivery services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

However, the price hike has become a threat to delivery workers who organized a rare strike, demanding better salaries and working conditions.

The Financial Times published an investigation shedding light on the suffering of Dubai workers in the Emirates, and their resort to strikes calling for their rights to improve their living conditions.

The strike was organized by the delivery workers in the Talabat unit of the German company Deliveroo, because of the over low wages and “the high cost of living.

 

Dubai Workers’ Suffering

Despite the ban on strikes and union work in the UAE, and the authorities’ efforts to suppress any opposition, whether related to politics or economic conditions, workers who represent the backbone of Gulf economies organized a strike in Dubai, denouncing the rising living cost.

Food-delivery workers are protesting meager pay and inadequate protections, across Dubai.

According to the Financial Times, the strike by Talabat workers disrupted the application service in the country; this came after another strike this month by employees of the rival operator, Delivery Hero which prompted the British-based company to abandon a scheme to cut salaries and extend hours. the work.

“It is impossible to live in Dubai with what we earn. After paying for petrol, food, and housing, I have nothing left," a 28-year-old Pakistani delivery worker told AFP, asking not to be named for fear of persecution.

He said that what prompted him to join the strike was the rise in fuel prices in particular, as he works indirectly through a recruitment agency, in the Talabat platform for delivery.

The strike was also to shed light on the agencies’ exploitation of the workers in the region.

The outbreak of “rare industrial unrest in the Gulf country” comes as oil and food prices rocket since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

 

A Real Crisis

At the end of last April, the International Monetary Fund expected that the prices of consumables in the UAE would rise by 3.7%, compared to 0.2% last year, while the UAE Ministry of Human Resources did not respond to a request for comment on the delivery workers' strike.

A spokesperson for the Talabat platform, where delivery workers are on strike this week, confirmed to AFP that delivery workers earn an average of 3,500 dirhams ($935) a month based on the number of orders they deliver.

According to the spokesman, until last week, the satisfaction rate of delivery workers with salaries was “more than 70%.”

He added: “However, we understand that the economic and political situation is constantly changing, and we will always listen to what they want to say.”

Migrant Rights NGO says that working conditions in delivery platforms are "worse" in Gulf countries than in other countries, noting that intermediary recruitment agencies "do not meet any of their legal obligations."

The organization confirmed to AFP that "the protests in the Emirates, which were organized amid great risks, reveal the growing frustration among workers in this sector.”

Another delivery worker at Talabat said they would continue the strike “for the good of all.”

The 19-year-old Pakistani youth indicated that his monthly earnings fell from 4000 dirhams to 3000 dirhams due to the increase in fuel prices in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

He added: “We put our lives at risk every day while riding the motorbike on busy roads 24/7.”

 

Exploitation

Dubai's economy depends on low-cost labor, with many workers hailing from Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, and African countries and residing mostly in shared accommodation.

The population of the UAE is about 10 million, where 90% are foreigners.

In a job market that is barely recovered from the effects of the COVID pandemic, a Pakistani delivery worker who is a father of two girls, has “no other choice but to join Talabat.”

However, he explains that “the high fuel prices affected us,” noting that he delivers “between 15 and 20 orders per day,” including the transportation of orders over long distances, which he says “drains the pockets of delivery drivers.”

Each delivery worker earns 7.5 dirhams per order, but the workers bear all the various daily and administrative costs, including fuel. Delivery workers are asking for an additional two dirhams for each order.

A Delivery Hero spokesperson said the company was “aware of the strike, in close contact with Talabat and in constant dialogue with drivers to improve benefits and conditions.”

“The local team in the United Arab Emirates is making it their priority to find a joint solution,” the spokesperson added.

Many delivery drivers in the UAE, including those working for Talabat, say they are employed by agencies that illegally charge them for working permits.