Workers who fear job loss if they report illness putting lives at risk, says officialLabourers in Dubai are living with chronic diseases because they are scared they will lose their jobs if they call in sick, according to a leading public health expert. Dr Wasif Muhammad Alam, a director of public health and safety at Dubai Health Authority, said the extent to which Dubai’s workers suffer from diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure is unknown. He said many labourers refuse to visit a doctor in the first place in case their employer finds out. “The thing is that they are scared,” said Alam. “They think that any disease they have will mean a termination.” During labour camp visits, Alam said that he all too frequently came across workers who had no idea they were even ill. “They are not even aware of many of these chronic diseases,” said Alam, who has worked across the GCC region in public health positions. He added: “In some cases they have very high blood pressure and I’ve said ‘Did you know that you have high blood pressure?’ “They say ‘No. I can’t see the doctor – now you’re telling me I have high blood pressure. Am I going to lose my job?’ “And I say ‘No, it’s treatable’. If they knew that, they could be given medication and not lose their jobs.” He added: “Back home they have never seen a doctor, so when they come here the same goes. “It’s the same problem – they don’t see one because they are scared.” Alam was speaking to 7DAYS on the first day of the Arab Health event at Dubai International Conference and Exhibition Centre on Monday. The event runs until Thursday. Alam was addressing a session entitled ‘Risk of communicable diseases among expatriate workers in the Gulf: are we safe?’ Worryingly, Alam also said some labourers, who make up a huge percentage of the UAE population and tend to come from Asia, were being diagnosed with tuberculosis – a disease that he described as “a time bomb”. Those who suffer from tuberculosis are banned from the UAE. He said workers were contracting the disease after going home to their own nations for visits and coming into contact with people who have the illness. Expats who are diagnosed with TB in the UAE are deported.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 13:19:39 +0000
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