Staff at du's Fujairah unit are all Emirati

Du opens call centre in Fujairah operated entirely by UAE nationals, as part of wider Emiratisation drive.

The UAE telecommunications company du has opened a call centre in Fujairah staffed entirely by UAE nationals, in an effort to boost the number of Emirati staff at the operator.

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The company said it was on track to reach 28 per cent Emirati total staff by the end of the year. Its "strategy is to reach an overall level of 38 per cent in 2015", it said.

The call centre, which will eventually be open 24 hours a day, was officially opened yesterday.

"It is 100 per cent UAE nationals, front office and back office," said Farid Faraidooni, the chief commercial officer at du.

The company outsources services such as maintenance and cleaning and does employ non-Emirati staff.

"Currently, there are 60 Emiratis employed in various functions at the customer-care centre, and we intend to increase this number by 100 per cent in 2012, reaching a total of 120 Emiratis," said Fahad Al Hassawi, the head of human resources at du.

Mr Al Hassawi told The National in September Emirati employees at the centre would earn an average Dh13,325 (US$3,627) a month. That included a Dh4,000 premium on the equivalent wage for expatriates.

Emiratisation is a government-endorsed programme designed to boost the number of UAE nationals employed in the private sector.