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UAE to Clamp Down on Fake Degrees, Certificates
Samir Salama
Gulf News, Arab News
DUBAI, 29 December 2003 — Labor officials in the United Arab Emirates are looking at ways to curb a wave of forgeries of degrees and certificates following the introduction of tougher requirements for foreign workers.
One solution would be electronic links between the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so that the process of attestation becomes paperless and less prone to fraud, according to Dr. Khaled Al-Khazraji, an undersecretary at the ministry.
The spate of forgeries that have come to light here has been attributed to the recent introduction of new rules for foreign workers in the UAE. Under the rules, expatriates seeking jobs in the private sector must hold at least a high school certificate or equivalent. Construction workers and some Arabs are exempt.
Some business managers have admitted paying for forged certificates. They argue they cannot afford to hire staff who meet the requirements and fake certificates are their only option if they want their business to stay afloat. Businessmen also dispute that a certificate guarantees the necessary skills, saying the requirements effectively bar skilled workers in certain categories because they do not have the paperwork.
They claim the only beneficiaries of the new rule are agents dealing in forged certificates.
Labor officials believe the rules have drastically cut the number of unskilled workers. But businessmen say they have merely increased the number of workers with fake certificates.
The ministry has referred scores of allegedly forged certificates to the police and suspended the files of the companies involved.
Officials can detect only forgeries produced on color photocopiers and computers, but some say fake certificates obtained by bribing officials at schools and colleges may never be uncovered.
A number of businessmen admitted that they produced forged certificates for their workers, for between 1,200 and 1,500 dirhams each - the ministry never knew, they added.
Dr. Al-Khazraji said: "Even if 10 or 20 percent of certificates are proved to have been forged, it will not force the ministry to reverse the rules, which are issued by higher authorities and for the good of the country."
He believes there are other forgeries. "But businessmen who have a view that is different from that of the ministry should not resort to illegal practices to flout the rule and attain personal goals. It is shame that they are attempting to justify resorting to illegal practices."
Yasser Bu Jarrah, a representative of a UAE wood manufacturing company, said: "Our factory is fully equipped and ready to be launched, but the problem we face is labor. We have been trying since last September to recruit skilled carpenters and painters who also hold high school certificates, but our efforts seem to be in vain.
"Similar businesses who require manual laborers do not need high-school educated people. We have spent more than one million dirhams on the factory, but owing to this unreasonable law we are losing our investment plus 3,000 dirhams in daily expenses."
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