Abu Dhabi Taxi shortage

Posted on October 4, 2007 Updated on June 6, 2015

Gulf News continues with their support to draw attention of the authorities to control and provide better solutions to Abu Dhabi public.

Luxury water bus service takes to the waves on Dubai Creek

Posted on October 4, 2007 Updated on June 6, 2015

Luxury water bus service takes to the waves on Dubai Creek By Ashfaq Ahmed, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS Published: October 02, 2007, 23:09

Dubai: Residents can beat the traffic to reach shopping malls, offices, hotels and banks along Dubai Creek by using the new water bus service, said a top official.

“There is a massive concentration of government offices, banks, shopping areas, and tourist sites along Dubai Creek and the water bus is the answer to avoiding traffic congestion in the area,” Eisa Abdul Rahman Al Dossari, Chief Executive Officer of the Marine Agency at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) told Gulf News at the launch of the Dubai Creek water bus routes.

“People can beat traffic congestion, save time, money and hassle in finding parking by simply using the water bus to commute in the area,” he added.

Integrated plan

The new water transport is part of an integrated public transport plan to curb traffic congestion. It will serve the congested central business districts of Deira and Bur Dubai.

All five routes of the luxury water bus service are now operational as part of the first phase of a strategic plan for marine transport.

“By introducing air-conditioned water buses, we are targeting new types of commuters and encouraging them to park their cars and use water transport to commute along the creek,” said Al Dossari.

He said the water buses were not in competition with the abra service (traditional boats that traverse the Creek) but would complement it.

Around 20 million passengers use the abra service every year.

“We hope at least 2 million people will use the water bus every year,” he added.

Regarding the price difference between the abra fare (Dh1) and the new water bus fare (Dh4) he said passengers would be travelling in luxury on the water bus as it has proper seating, air-conditioning and facilities for the disabled.

The RTA has also introduced a smart card for the water bus service. Those, who use Dh40 worth will also get a 10 per cent discount. Passengers can also purchase tickets from the machine installed at abra stations.

Al Dossari said the water bus service is part of the first phase of the marine public transport project launched by the RTA’ s Marine Agency which has earmarked Dh1.5 billion to have integrated water transport services to implement its marine transport strategic plan 2020. Initially, eight out of a total of 10 water buses with the capacity to take 36 passengers each will be used while two water buses will be reserved for tourists. The operation will be seven days a week for 17 hours every day, from 6am to 11pm.

Abras: No new licences
With the launch of the service the RTA has stopped issuing licences for abras to cross the creek.

“No new abra licences will be issued because we understand the present 149 are more than enough to handle the current demands of passenger traffic,” Eisa Abdul Rahman Al Dossari, CEO, told Gulf News.

Shaikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum sees hope for Sudanese children

Posted on October 3, 2007 Updated on June 6, 2015

Maitha sees hope for Sudanese children
By a staff reporter KHALEEJ TIMES 3 October 2007

DUBAI — The enormous challenges being faced by children in Sudan can be overcome only through humanitarian initiatives such as the ‘Dubai Cares’ campaign, according to Shaikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

During her first-ever visit to Sudan as part of the Dubai Cares initiative, Shaikha Maitha toured the country to personally understand the children’s struggle to obtain basic education.

Senior government officials in Khartoum briefed her on the educational needs of the country, decimated by over 20 years of civil war. In Juba, Unicef officials Peter Crowley, Director, and Douglas Higgins, Deputy Representative, Southern Sudan, highlighted the country’s situation in the south.

Isa Abdullah Al Bashah Al Nu’aimi, UAE Ambassador to Sudan, was present during the briefings and Shaikha Maitha’s visits to the schools.

Shaikha Maitha said: “Dubai Cares believes in every child’s right to education and is committed to ensuring that no child is denied education. I wanted to tell the children we are here to help them and to, ultimately, help their country.”

Shaikha Maitha and her delegation visited Kuku-A Primary School and Juba 1 Girl’s Primary School, where the children welcomed her with songs and dances.

Recalling the experience of visiting the 4×3-metre classroom shared by nearly 60 students, she said: “I am touched by the warmth and strength of these children — a testament to their will to live and learn. We owe it to them to keep their hopes alive.”

In Khartoum, Shaikha Maitha visited the Mustapha Hamad School for Girls. She said: “Having seen the situation and the conditions children endure to obtain education, I am overwhelmed with their capacity to cope with the unbelievable. My heart goes out to them. Through campaigns such as Dubai Cares, we will empower them, their families and the community.”

Five burnt to death as speeding car overturns

Posted on October 3, 2007 Updated on June 6, 2015

Five burnt to death as speeding car overturns
By Alia Al Theeb, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS Published: October 02, 2007, 23:09

Dubai: Five people were burnt to death in a horrific traffic accident early on Tuesday, police said.

According to preliminary investigations, speeding was the cause of the accident that took place near the entrance of Al Karama tunnel connecting Shaikh Rashid Road to Shaikh Zayed Road. A police official said the bodies have not been identified yet.

This was the second major traffic accident in four days. Early Friday, seven people were killed on Emirates Road when the tyre of the minibus they were travelling in burst and the minibus turned over. Police also blamed speeding for the accident.

In yesterday’s accident, the driver of the car was speeding and as a result he hit the side pavement of the tunnel. The car turned over and caught fire. None of the passengers was able to escape from the car and were burnt to death.

In another incident, a fire broke out in the cabin of a ship loaded with cars in Al Hamriya Port. However, the fire did not reach the cars and no injuries were reported.

Flexible hours for office workers aim to ease traffic

Posted on October 2, 2007

Flexible hours for office workers aim to ease traffic
By Ashfaq Ahmed, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS Published: October 02, 2007, 23:09

Dubai: Government departments have been asked by the Dubai Executive Council to adopt flexible working hours to improve their performance.

The system would not only benefit government departments but would also dramatically alleviate traffic congestion on the roads, the Council says.

“We expect up to a 30 per cent decrease in traffic congestion, especially during peak hours if flexible working hours are adopted by both the private and public sectors,” an RTA official told Gulf News.

The General Secretariat of the Dubai Executive Council has sent a letter to all government departments urging them to apply flexible working hours.

The system is in line with Dubai’s strategic plan 2015 launched by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, calling for the creation of an ideal work environment

Positive environment

Flexible working hours would ensure a positive work environment ideal for government employees to serve customer needs, a DEC statement said.

A Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) official told Gulf News the RTA has also proposed a change in the private sector’s working pattern to ease traffic and it has been having talks with major companies.

“Based on our studies, we have categorised three sectors for flexible working hours. They are public and private sectors and schools. In addition to having flexible workings hours within the private and public sectors, we want to have a “window” between the timings of these categories,” the official said.

Municipality already working on system

Dubai Municipality has already started working on applying a flexible working hours system for its employees, said an official.

“The system aims to improve the performance of staff and extract the maximum out of official working hours. One of the purported objectives is also to help solve the traffic woes of office-goers, especially during rush hour,” he said.

He said the system neither proposes to cut the total working hours nor staff attendance.

The Municipality, on an experimental basis, is considering implementing three timings for checking in and checking out of staff. They are 6.30am to 1.30pm, 7.30am to 2.30pm, and 8.30am to 3.30pm.

Air Arabia: Service To Coimbatore

Posted on October 1, 2007 Updated on June 6, 2015

Air Arabia: Service To Coimbatore

Air Arabia yesterday announced a new service to the Indian city of Coimbatore twice weekly beginning on October 1, increasing to three flights a week from November.

Kyle Haywood, Commercial Director of Air Arabia, said: “We are pleased to introduce our eighth destination in India, strengthening our ongoing commitment to offering passengers the widest choice of destinations in India at the best value for money.

“Such expansion provides our many customers in India with the added convenience of more destinations throughout MENA and South Asia.”

Coimbatore, also known as Koneyammanputhhur, is Air Arabia’s eighth destination in India. It is one of the largest cities in the state of Tamil Nadu.

The flights will leave Sharjah International Airport at 8.05am local time and arrive in Coimbatore at 1.35pm local time every Monday and Friday. Return flights will depart at 2.20pm local time and arrive in Sharjah at 4.40pm local time on the same days.

Haywood added: “The addition of this destination for Air Arabia provides even greater opportunities for travelers between the MENA region and India for both holiday and business travel. We look forward to further enhancing our destination network in India in the future.”

UAE to issue temporary work permits

Posted on October 1, 2007

In order to meet the shortage of expatriate workers, the UAE will issue temporary work permits for a six-month period, from today.

All companies in the country can now seek temporary work permits to facilitate the process of recruiting foreign manpower, said Obaid Rashid Al Zahmi, Assistant Under-secretary in the Ministry of Labour.

In the past, such permits were issued only to oil and energy firms.

The three-month temporary permit or ‘mission visa’ will cost Dh500. For a three-month extension of the permit, companies would have to pay an additional Dh500 along with a Dh3,000 bank guarantee, said Al Zahmi.

He says the permit is not expensive, and, according to him, it is, in fact, beneficial to all, as firms can check the credentials and the performance of the workers they have recruited. He added that workers’ rights would also be protected.

Some sectors are reeling under staff shortages after more than 200,000 illegal workers left the country under a recent amnesty programme.

The mission visa will allow people to live and work in the UAE for up to six months.

Count your exchange rate losses

Posted on October 1, 2007

Count your exchange rate losses
By Babu Das Augustine, Banking Editor Published: October 01, 2007, 00:41

Dubai: Did your employer recently give you a 10-15 per cent salary raise and a bit of motivational talk on your performance?

You might be surprised to find that your increment doesn’t mean much. And if your employer didn’t consider you for a raise in the last 18 months, you have a serious problem as your earnings have depreciated in the range of 23 to 31 per cent, depending on the currency in which you are saving and spending your money.

UAE residents already reeling under the rising cost of living are also losing heavily due to exchange rate losses.

Last year, the UAE’s inflation hit a 19-year high of 9.3 per cent and the inflation this year is estimated around the same level by Standard Chartered Bank.

The exchange rate data for the last 19 months suggest that various groups of expatriates living in the UAE lost in the range of 12 to 21 per cent in exchange rate losses along (see table).

In simple terms it means, your earnings in purchasing power in your home currency is down about 12 per cent if you are earning in rupee, 15 per cent down in the peso and 20 per cent and 18.7 per cent in the euro and the sterling, respectively.

With the exchange rates of dirham falling against their home currencies, expatriate salary earners who have fixed commitments such as mortgages, bank loans and college fees are forced to dip into their savings or borrow to send money home.

Savings remain nil despite better pay

Posted on October 1, 2007 Updated on June 6, 2015

Savings remain nil despite better pay
By Robert Ditcham, Staff Reporter Published: October 01, 2007, 00:41

Dubai: Private sector salaries in the UAE rose by 10.7 per cent on average over the last year, just beating the nine per cent GCC average, according to figures released yesterday by online recruitment firm GulfTalent.com.

Oman registered the biggest jump, from 5.6 per cent last year to 11 per cent this year, while wages in Saudi Arabia climbed just 7.7 per cent – the lowest of the countries surveyed.

Analysts say employers have been forced to raise wages to contend with intense competition for talented workers, healthy pay rises in the public sector, the depreciating US dollar and rising salaries in India, traditionally the main supplier of expatriate workforce to Gulf countries.

But better pay is unlikely to leave more money in the bank for workers due to spiraling inflation and depreciation of dollar-pegged currencies.

The UAE’s official inflation reached 9.3 per cent in 2006, driven by soaring food prices and rent hikes, while Qatar’s inflation increased to 14.8 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter before declining to 12.8 per cent in the second quarter.

Shortage of skills

Of the UAE-based expatriates surveyed by GulfTalent.com, 41 per cent reported making no savings on their income, the highest figure in the Gulf. And nine per cent of UAE-based expats reported that their salaries did not even cover their living costs, forcing them to borrow or live off their existing savings.

For employers the trend translates into difficulty recruiting and retaining staff, which has already had serious implications for the region’s economy.

“While market demand was extremely healthy, skills shortages were limiting their companies’ ability to grow, forcing them to turn down new business or, in some cases, causing them to miss targets on their existing projects,” said Yasser Hatami, managing director of GulfTalent.com.

Abid Junaid, CEO of Dubai-based property developer ETA Star, said developers are becoming more realistic in the number of projects they launch and their delivery targets due to a lack of skilled labour among contractors, but he did not anticipate a major slowdown in the construction sector.

“It’s a very concerning situation as it impacts our ability to attract expatriate workers, especially from Europe and the Indian sub-continent,” he said.

Junaid said developers can reduce residents’ expenditure on rent by building more low-cost housing.

According to the GulfTalent survey, the GCC construction sectors enjoying the highest pay rise, along with banking and energy. Healthcare and education registered the lowest increases.

Among job categories, engineers and finance staff received the biggest pay rises, followed by human resource professionals in third place, the survey revealed.

“Historically under-represented in the region, the HR function has recently been catapulted to the front line as Gulf-based employers grapple with the challenge of attracting, developing and retaining staff,” the report stated.

In response to declining net disposable income, companies are now changing the structure of worker’s pay packages to boost staff retention, said Hatami. Pensions, stock options, training initiatives, and a reduction in working hours are all being considered, he said.

The quality of life within a country is another important factor, the survey suggested. It revealed that the UAE, and Dubai in particular, still benefit from the relative popularity of the country with expatriates, thanks to attractive career opportunities, modern infrastructure and facilities, and a relatively liberal society.

“This is allowing UAE-based employers to continue to attract and retain professionals with below-inflation pay rises, albeit with greater difficulty than previously,” the report said.