Foreign employment

Hi Guys,

Few of you have read my previous on UAE employment etc.

Jan 4th 09 a ladder on one of my projects, a 36mt motor yacht, collapsed with me on it.
Result broken back and crushed foot but I was lucky no spinal cord injury so approx 4 months I should be back in some action.

The reason I mention this is having insurance cover and compensation for these instances. In my case all my costs and income are covered for 12months.

Compensation depends on a police report who do not call in expert consultants instead make their own decission based on verbal evidence.

In ME the laws we take for granted that guarantee protection and compensation don't exist instead to get a result you pay for a lawyer and all costs up front and everything is based on documented evidence not on professional opinion.

So if you are thinking of working in SE Asian, ME or Africa make sure your contract covers all the worst case cenarios because **** does happen!

 

i see, so why did you try climb an unsafe structure, in this case a ladder?

 

The accident of swabbie is a good example that it could happen always. When you work in these countries you have either to insist that you see all paperwork from your company to ensure that you are officially employed or you accept that you are illegal in the country. Especially companies in free zones have hughe difficulties to employ foreigners. Companies who are in the need to get experts to solve their problems, have mostly in mind to fire the foreigner soon as possible, because a expensive foreigner fits not in their business concept of producing a yacht with cheap local labour. Mostly you can expect that the company will not start the paperwork for you or will try to delay it, and even when they start the application for a work permit it will need months. The usual way is to work illegal and to fly in and out all three months as tourist. Difficult it gets only when something happen. Lets say that you have a car crash, that something happen at the yard like with swabbie or the company gets in governemental investigation. I know a lot of people who thinks they are covered with their normal travel insurance. These insurances will pay maybe your medication for a flu, but they will never cover your therapie when you stay for example a half year in an Egyptian hospital. My personal best experience is to have in your mother country an professional health insurance which covers you totally worldwide without limits. Thies means, even if you fall from a ladder in ME, you can go after it to a sanatorium in Sweden for example. As global traveller always living and working on the edge of illegal actions you need to set up a proper system. To bring you for accidents on the safe side, to have no trouble with tax, no problems with visas, etc. I recommend to work with serious professional consultants! In a case like swabbie it will not help you when your insurance agent next door sold you an health insurance 10 yers ago! Sitting in a western shipyard behind a screen with nice carpet under your feets is a simple way to work. Risking your life in the streets of ME, building superyachts on a beach or a tugboat shipyard, dealing with cellfish and money orientated Arabs, having the risk to be fired everyday in a second is a not very comfortable life. So, dont try to safe money on a proper set up. These people there will never help you if you get in trouble, they will just get your replacement.

 

Hey whoosh you're a jerk pal

I said I stepped onto a ladder, my intent to desend, no mention of climbing the ladder and where did you read unsafe. I did'nt mention the reason the ladder failed

 

Posting this as a FYI, from another forum:

I cannot verify as to the truth of the post, but it may give cause for personal research on the topic if going to China.

 

Get well soon.

 

maybe I ,m a jerk, but I have never had an accident, because at the end of the day we are all responsible for our OWN safety, and moral of that story is, dont do anything that is unsafe, you,ll learn, be happy

 

Amazingly are these stories always repeating around the world. People who are going in these countries should be alarmed when certain things happen. Where ever you are, the ways to foul a foreigner are mostly the same. The blindness of western people, who believes to be the guy where everybody is waiting for in developing coutries and the hope to make a lot of money leads them mostly to a lot of problems.
Interesting are also these recruitment companies who are specialized like the new one in UK for marine professionals. Their listings are full of Dubai jobs, all companies behind these job are well known and already on the blacklists of expats.
I believe it is time for a proper consultation for these youngsters who dreams to have nice adventures and a lot of money overseas. It is not the matter of finding a job, its a matter of having the right setup for tax, insurances and money savings.

 

Among all the ink on this subject, I think I can speak for the majority of this site as to a healthy and speedy recovery.

 

hey swabbie

sorry to hear about your terrible trragedy .

I have worked in middle east.The business practices in that part of the world is very complex in a not very good way.