European Union officials have hailed the conditions in Saadiyat Accommodation Village, the residential facility for construction workers employed on TDIC projects in Abu Dhabi.
EU representatives “expressed positive feedback” about the quality of life and high standards at the labour camp during a tour organised by Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) earlier this week.
The delegation consisted of representatives from the European Union who were in Abu Dhabi for the fourth meeting of the UAE-EU Human Rights Working Group.
“The delegation was able to learn more about the daily life of workers at the village as well as the various recreational activities they enjoy. These include regularly scheduled entertainment events, sporting tournaments and movie nights,” said a statement.
They were also provided with an overview of the progress that TDIC has achieved on the subject of workers’ welfare and the company’s on-going efforts as evident in the latest published annual independent monitoring report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, it added.
Ali Yousef Al Hammadi, CEO of TDIC, said: “We are proud of all that we have achieved to date with regards to the welfare of our workers on Saadiyat.
“This visit was an opportunity for the distinguished delegation to see first-hand the guidelines TDIC has put into place to ensure the workers’ wellbeing, and learn more about the facilities and services available to them in the village.
“TDIC takes the welfare of our workers seriously, and is seeking to continuously enhance the current guidelines according to standards set by international best practices in the industry.”
Facilities at the labour camp include gyms, indoor and outdoor sporting areas, free video-conferencing facilities to call their families, multi-lingual libraries, access to medical care on site, foreign exchange facility to send funds back home, free laundry services and free transportation, TDIC said.