Sheikh Sultan issues law reorganising Sharjah’s Labour Standards Development Authority

His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, issued Law No.(1) of 2022 AD regarding the reorganisation of the Labour Standards Development Authority (LSDA) in Sharjah.

The law stipulates that the Authority has the legal personality and total capacity to carry out all the work and actions that ensure achieving objectives and exercising competencies in the private sector in the emirate.

The law also stipulates that the authority aims to achieve the following:

1. Develop work standards and implementation procedures to ensure a distinct and attractive working environment for employers and employees.

2. Promote awareness of and compliance with labour legislation and standards, ensuring workers' rights and looking after the employers' interests.

3. Striving to achieve a decent life for workers and improve the terms and conditions of their life and work.

4. Strengthening working relationships between employers and employees and motivating them to implement labor legislation and standards.

5. Ensuring the availability of the required standards in accommodations following best practices.

According to the law, subject to the relevant federal and local legislation, the Authority shall exercise all the powers necessary to achieve its objectives, and in particular, it shall have the following:

1. Develop policies and strategies necessary to promote the labour market in the emirate and submit them to the Council for approval.

2. Suggesting legislation, bylaws, and regulations related to labour standards and labour accommodation and presenting them to the Council to decide what is appropriate.

3. Suggesting general criteria for training and qualifying labor cadres technically and professionally and implementing procedures in coordination with government agencies and establishments, and submitting them to the Council for approval.

4. Monitor and evaluate the application of labour legislation and standards and its impact on labor market in the emirate and the parties to the labor relationship. Submit proposals and recommendations to the Council to take necessary action.

5. Develop and implement inspection programmes on establishments to ensure their compliance with labor legislation and standards and take the necessary procedures for it, in coordination with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation and government agencies.

6. Take the necessary preventive and remedial measures for establishments that are likely to falter or faltered, and provide the essential support to workers in coordination with the Ministry and the competent government agencies.

7. Take the necessary precautionary measures for facilities in case of disasters, crises, or emergencies and provide the essential support in coordination with the Ministry and government agencies.

8. Supervising and inspecting labor accommodations to ensure compliance with labour accommodation standards, in coordination with the Ministry and the competent government agencies.

9. Management, operation, and development of projects, facilities, and buildings in labor accommodation areas in the emirate

10. Organising educational, awareness, and motivational activities, courses, and programmes related to labor legislation and standards

11. Organising and participating in labor events and activities locally and internationally, in coordination with the concerned authorities.

12. Establishing proper and effective communication channels with employers and employees, receiving suggestions, recommendations, and complaints, and taking the necessary action.

13. Conducting studies and research related to labor affairs in the emirate.

14. Providing a labor market information system in the emirate in coordination with the competent government agencies.

15. Cooperation with the Ministry, government agencies, and the establishment of partnerships with the private sector to achieve the objectives of the Authority.

16. Signing agreements, memoranda of understanding, and partnerships necessary to achieve the objectives of the Authority after being approved by the Council.

17. Suggesting the establishment and incorporation of companies of all kinds or investing in them and submitting it to the Council to decide what it deems appropriate.

18. Seeking the assistance of the competent authorities to obtain administrative and technical support, it may seek the assistance of experts and consultants in everything related to its work to achieve its objectives.

19. Representing the emirate in local, regional, and international events related to labor affairs.

20. Any other functions entrusted to the commission by the Ruler or the Council

The law also stipulates that the Authority shall be managed by a president appointed by an Emiri decree, assisted by a sufficient number of employees according to its approved organisational structure. He shall have the necessary powers and authorities to manage the affairs of the Authority and take the required decisions to achieve its objectives. In particular, he shall have the following:

1. Suggesting the general policy and strategic plans necessary to achieve the Authority's objectives and present them to the Council for approval or necessary action.

2. Suggesting draft laws and decisions related to the Authority's work and presenting them to the Council to decide what it deems appropriate.

3. Supervising the workflow of the Authority following the legislation and regulations in force, issuing administrative decisions, and following up on their implementation.

4. Preparing the annual budget and final account of the Authority and submitting them to the Council to take the necessary action.

5. Create a system to invest the Authority's funds after submitting it to the Council.

6. Supervising the mechanism of disbursement of the Authority's budget.

7. Forming permanent and temporary committees and work teams affiliated with the Authority and defining their terms of reference and work system.

8. Representing the Authority before governmental and private agencies, in its relations with others, and before the judiciary.

9. Signing contracts, agreements, memoranda of understanding, and partnerships by the Authority.

10. Submit periodic reports on the Authority's work to the Council.

11. Delegating some of his powers and competencies to senior employees of the Authority following the legislation in force in the emirate.

12. Any other tasks assigned to him by the Ruler or the Council.

The law also included several organisational articles for financial resources, the organisational structure, judicial control, and the issuance of regulations and decisions necessary to implement the law.