Munder talks the talk at the Philippine Embassy

When the labour attache is not helping his countrymen, you can find him striding out along the Corniche.

"There is a need to adopt a uniform contract for our expatriate workers," says Nasser Munder. Delores Johnson / The National

ABU DHABI // After a long day at work, helping Filipinos to deal with a host of problems such as delayed or unpaid salaries,unfair dismissals and forced resignations, Nasser Munder likes to unwind with a walk on the Corniche.
"An hour of brisk walking helps me relax, clears my head and prepares me for another hectic day at the office," says the 53-year-old labour attache, who likes to take a meander on the Corniche three times a week.
When he moved to Abu Dhabi in February 2007, the first thing Mr Munder did was to read the UAE's labour laws and compile a list of ministerial decrees and resolutions. Five months later, he issued a labour handbook to help workers to navigate the system and advise them of their rights and obligations. A revised copy was published last April.
"The release of the book greatly reduced the number of phone enquiries and visits to my office by workers with labour and visa-related problems," he says. "I've been encouraging professionals to read the book so they could in turn offer advice to their compatriots."
In addition to labour counselling, Mr Munder verifies and signs labour contracts, inspects the offices and staff accommodation of prospective employers and meets representatives from recruitment firms wanting to hire Filipino workers. A third of the nearly 600,000 Filipinos in the emirates live and work in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.
Mr Munder has 16 brothers and sisters, all of them successful: two are politicians and the rest work in engineering, accountancy and the medical profession.
After graduating with a degree in political science from Manuel L Quezon University in Manila, he went on to earn a law degree, joining the bar in 1981.
"I studied law because I wanted to enter politics," he says. "But I later thought it was too complicated and didn't want to be involved in any of those dirty tactics just to get elected."
He became a labour attache in 1998, after spending nine years as the municipal trial court judge in Marawi City in southern Philippines.
His first foreign assignment was in Kuwait, where he served as the assistant labour attache. He was transferred to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia the following year and then to Macao in October 2002.
In 2003, he returned to Jeddah to help to resolve the growing number of labour problems facing 450,000 Filipinos working in the Western Region. He served as the assistant regional director of the Philippine Labour Department between 2005 and 2007 before moving to Abu Dhabi in April 2007.
Three months into the job, he helped a domestic worker in Abu Dhabi who had been involved in a car accident in 2003 but had gone home to the Philippines without receiving any compensation.
Two people died in the crash and the woman suffered a broken leg. She spent six months recuperating at the embassy women's shelter before flying home.
When Mr Munder took over the Philippine labour office in the capital, he reviewed the case and, through the courts, helped to secure her Dh95,000 in compensation.
"She could hardly believe it when I phoned her in the Philippines to inform her about the outcome of the case," he recalls. "We wired the money to her as soon as we got hold of her passport copy."
In October 2008 he negotiated an out-of-court settlement with the lawyer of a man accused of raping his housemaid. The victim was discouraged by the prospect of a long, drawn-out court case, but Mr Munder convinced her to stay and fight for her rights. In the end, she won Dh75,000 in compensation.
Elizabeth Marie Estrada, the assistant labour attache who arrived in the capital last March, describes Mr Munder as a "man of few words." "He's not verbose, but when he speaks, you should really listen intently," she says. "You will appreciate his depth of thought."
Mr Munder, she says, is well-liked in the community. "If there is one person whom one would like to seek advice from, it's him," she says.
The labour attache's wife and seven children have all remained in the Philippines, although they are frequent visitors.
Mr Munder attends community functions such as the oath-taking of officers of professional or social clubs. Occasionally, he is invited to gatherings to discuss elements of UAE labour law that are applicable to other expatriate workers.
Last September 30, Mr Munder joined embassy officials from Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, India and Bangladesh at a lunch hosted by the US embassy.
"As labour-sending countries, we discussed the procedures related to labour and employment and shared our experience in handling our workers' problems," he says.
Most officials say the overriding concern is contract substitution; at the last minute, migrant workers are offered second, inferior work contracts they feel they must sign.
"We remain firm in our stand," Mr Munder says. "There is a need to adopt a uniform contract for our expatriate workers."
Mr Munder's three-year tour of duty was due to end last April.
"I'm waiting for the new policy of our new labour secretary since, initially, we're deployed for three years," he says. "We are like soldiers; we're either recalled to the Philippines or transferred to another foreign post."
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