Tuesday, May 21, 2013
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--In a bid to soothe investors nerves about striking labourers at Arabtec Holding (ARTC.DFM), the U.A.E.-based construction company on Tuesday said it is working closely with various government agencies to resolve the dispute and that the "partial" stoppage won't affect its project delivery timelines.
The strikes have been in effect since Saturday, when workers remained at company-owned housing instead of coming to job sites, members of a skeleton crew at an Arabtec project in Dubai told Zawya Dow Jones early Monday.
"Arabtec has been working closely with the U.A.E. Ministry of Labour, the Dubai Police and the concerned security authorities to resolve as soon as possible a partial workers stoppage by a limited group of Arabtec Construction LLC labor employees, primarily from Bangladesh," the company said in a statement posted on the Dubai bourse website.
It added that the demands being made contravene both the U.A.E. labour laws and the contracts signed with the company.
The U.A.E.'s Ministry of Labor in an emailed statement on Monday said it was monitoring the Arabtec situation alongside the Dubai police and Department of Foreign Nationals' Affairs. Arabtec has paid wages on time and continues to supply workers with proper housing and meals, the ministry said.
Arabtec shares fell 2.1% to AED2.39 on Monday.
Write to Nikhil Lohade at nikhil.lohade@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
21-05-13 0503GMT
