DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An advert inviting
Emiratis to apply for a "sandwich maker" job has sparked a storm with
citizens decrying purportedly humiliating attempts to provide employment — and
authorities launching a probe.
اضافة اعلان
The UAE Public Prosecution office said Saturday it was opening
an "immediate investigation" following a "contentious" job
advert and was even "interrogating the CEO of the business".
It didn't specify the firm or CEO, but the statement came
after the Kamal Osman Jamjoom Group — a retail giant — advertised the position
at the Subway fast food chain tailored specifically for Emirati nationals
"to support the state's efforts to localize jobs".
The vacancy announcement — later retracted — came ahead of a
looming January deadline for private
UAE-based companies with more than 50
employees to ensure that two percent of their staff are UAE nationals, on pain
of fines.
"This is mockery," one Twitter user said in
response to the Subway vacancy.
Another Twitter post shared by hundreds, read: "The
lack of administrative, financial and technical jobs has led to 'sandwich
maker'. ... Oh, what an age!"
Even Emirati academics were drawn into the conversation.
"This post-oil transition period is proving
difficult," said Emirati researcher Mira Al-Hussein.
Others, however, said there is no shame in such jobs, with
one Emirati noting on Twitter that billionaire
Jeff Bezos started out as a
McDonald's employee.
In a post on Saturday, the UAE Public Prosecution office
said "the job ad has broken both Emiratization regulations and media
content standards as it included contentious content."
The Kamal Osman Jamjoom Group has apologized for the ad,
saying a "translation error" led to faulty formulation.
According to the
International Labor Organization, more than
90 per cent of the UAE's private sector labor force is comprised of foreigners.
UAE nationals are mainly employed in stable and relatively
well-paying jobs in the country's vast public sector, the ILO says.
As part of a push to boost Emirati employment, the UAE
government this year launched a mandatory “Emiratization” drive that obliges
most major private sector companies to hire nationals in skilled positions.
As of January 1, 2023, non-compliant firms can face fines of
up to 6,000 dirhams ($1,633) for each position they have failed to fill with an
Emirati national.
Last month, the UAE's Minister of Human Resources and
Emiratization Abdulrahman Abdulmannan Al-Awar said that more than 14,000
Emiratis have entered the job market in 2022.
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