Workplace fatalities drop 19 per cent



AL AIN // The number of fatal accidents in Abu Dhabi workplaces fell sharply last year, according to the latest workplace health figures released.

There were 551 deaths on the job in 2010, a drop of 19 per cent from 680 in 2009.

Falls and falling objects continue to pose the most danger to labourers, the report said. But the overall decline in deaths concealed increases in work-related road deaths and drownings.

Since 2009, Abu Dhabi has had a standards and training centre for construction and maintenance work. It has 100 inspectors and runs publicity campaigns aiming to improve workplace safety.

However, officials from the Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (HAAD) said the lower death toll might be attributable to the reduced pace of construction work in 2010, more than to any safety improvements.

As for non-fatal injuries, figures for 2010 are not yet available, But a six-month survey of Abu Dhabi casualty wards in 2008 found 1,689 occupational injuries.

"Trends are similar year to year," said Darren Joubert, a senior adviser in occupational health at HAAD. However, he added that since there has been no census since 2005, it is hard to gauge how much of any variation is down to the changing population.

Dr Michal Grivna, a professor in the department of community medicine at UAE University, said falls were the leading cause of hospitalisation.

Most people injured were labourers and construction workers, most commonly Indians, followed by Pakistanis and Bengalis. That information, said Mr Joubert, was crucial in deciding what languages information should be provided in.

"Of course slips, trips, and falls, are the most common ones," said Dr Tar-Ching Aw, the head of the department of community medicine at UAE University. "But the most dangerous job is operating a crane at the very top."

There is also risk, he said, in being in the vicinity of a working crane "with no helmet or anything". "This is a challenge of course in the UAE," he said.

While some doctors said traffic injuries in the course of a person's work should not be considered occupational injuries, Mr Joubert said that as the labour law included them, studies should, too.

Dr Shemma Paryani, an eye doctor at Al Ain hospital, said that industrial eye injuries were also common. A study she conducted between 2006 and 2009 found that three in five cases were work-related, most commonly from nails bouncing into the eye, and from grinding.

She also found that eye injuries were common in date factories. "The leaves from the palm tree are very sharp," she said.

According to Dr Ali Damanhouri, an emergency doctor at Tawam Hospital, workplace accidents are the second most common cause of emergency cases, after road accidents.

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Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
UJDA CHAMAN

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Directed: Abhishek Pathak

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Anxiety and work stress major factors

Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.

A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.

Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.

One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.

It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."

Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.

“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi. 

“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."

Daniel Bardsley

Notable Yas events in 2017/18

October 13-14 KartZone (complimentary trials)

December 14-16 The Gulf 12 Hours Endurance race

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Green waste is recycled as compost

Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs

Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers

About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer

Main themes of expo is  ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.

Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months

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Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”