Furthering the Cause of Labour Rights and Welfare in the UAE.

Group Members:Nikita AroraRachel LewisSakina Umme AbihaMitthi SinghZuhair Mohammed

PR CAMPAIGN – Labour of Love

CLIENT

•The campaign is being undertaken to supplement

the efforts of and promote the operations of

‘AdoptaCamp’, a campaign initiated by Pakistani

national Saher Sheikh, to improve the lives of

labourers in the UAE.

About the client

•AdoptaCamp currently supports 35 camps and

over 9000 men in Dubai, Sharjah, and Fujairah.

• It strives to serve the basic needs of the workers

including sufficient food and comfortable shelter

with proper hygiene, as well as provide

accommodations and money to send home.

RELEVANCE OF THE CAMPAIGN

• Minimum wage not sufficient, inflexible.

• Prohibition from organizing unions, bargaining

collectively, and going on strike.

• Labor regulations do not cover certain groups.

• Discrimination against women.

• Threat of deportation faced by expat workers.

• ‘Kafala’ system.

AIM OF THE CAMPAIGN

• Promoting by all means possible; benefits for workers in the

UAE by endorsing the activities carried out by ‘AdoptaCamp’

including;

Improvement in working conditions.

Increasing awareness about workers rights and needs.

Persuading organizations to stick to minimum wages.

Taking care of basic necessities.

Creating loan repay schemes.

MEDIA STRATEGY

• Posters, flyers and a brochure will highlight the requirement

of such a campaign.

• Letters to the editor & articles will keep the public informed

about any updates regarding the campaign.

• Radio, television and press interviews will bring to light

personal opinions and first hand experiences of the workers.

• Seminars and Event sponsorships will further propagate the

issue at hand.

Samples of media strategy elements

Letter to the editor

Give workers safe, clean places to stay

Failure to comply with UAE policies for laborers' welfare should invite swift action

Gulf News

Published: 00:00 August 8, 2010

There is no question that the aim of providing clean, humane and safe accommodation

is a welcome step given that some companies have yet to comply with the

government's rule on the matter. Since it adopted a policy aimed at improving the

general living conditions of workers, the UAE has taken various measures to meet the

objective……

There is no question that the aim of providing clean, humane and safe

accommodation is a welcome step given that some companies have yet to

comply with the government's rule on the matter.

Image Credit: Gulf News Archive

Article

Woman commits to improving life for workers

By Megan Hirons Mahon, Staff Photographer

Published: 00:00 August 21, 2010

Shaikh is the founder of the AdoptaCamp programme, which works to

improve the lives of UAE labourers. She has teamed up with the Biryani

Kabab House in Sharjah's Sajaa Industrial Area to provide free Iftar meals for

a 100 workers a night for the whole of Ramadan. The workers think

highly of Saher Shaikh. Wakas Riaz, 23 is a labourer from

Pakistan and is one of the few at the meal who speaks

English. "We are coming every other night to the iftar," he

says. There is no water or electricity where he lives with 35

other men.

Saher Sheikh with workers

Workers show Saher Shaikh the rusty water dispenser that is their only source of

drinking water in their accommodation.

Image Credit: Megan Hirons Mahon/Gulf News

Emirates News is the most balanced and credible source of English-language local news on television.

It airs from a state-of-the-art News Center in Media City & speaks to the concerns of all communities living in the UAE, providing breaking news stories, in-depth reports, and covering relevant events from Dubai and around the world. Their dedicated team of field reporters have, their finger on the pulse of the city and on the latest issues affecting our lives

Dubai Today - 0900-1200. Talks about topical events and issues in Dubai with audience participation via text message, phone calls, and occasional guests in the studio.

Event• A seminar will be held that will invite important members of

organizations (In the UAE) that employ labour on a large

scale and encourage them to improve working conditions

and facilitate workers’ welfare.

• Saher Sheikh will be present to enlighten the audience about

her contribution in the field and what the organizations can

do to further the cause.

• Voluntary donations will be collected.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT

• The campaign will be analyzed to ensure that no activities of the

campaign offend the feelings, emotions, or policies of the country

(organization) or its leaders (members/employees/employers).

• A PR professional will be hired to reach levels of mutual

compromise.

• Positive press coverage will be arranged.

• Maximum efforts to ensure smooth execution.

EVALUATION STRATEGY

•To monitor the impact of the campaign:

Interviews with members of labor organizations.

Interviews with workers.

Giving the workers a platform to discuss their

problems and look for solutions.

CONCLUSION• Labourers in the UAE comprise a large percentage of the market.

It is important that their needs, as well as the needs of the

organizations be taken into account to formulate a solution that

will be beneficial to both parties.

• It is in benefit of the entire country that a hospitable environment

be created for these workers. Apart from it being a moral duty of

organizations, it is also a matter of respect for humanity, and

must be taken into account by any organization while employing

labour.