UAE citizens furious at Subway's 'Emirati sandwich maker' job opening
2 Min Read
The UAE Prosecution Office has launched an "immediate investigation."
-
UAE citizens furious at Subway's 'Emirati sandwich maker' job opening
An advertisement for an Emirati "sandwich maker" job at Subway has angered Emirati nationals in the UAE, who have denounced the job opportunity as humiliating, with authorities launching a probe into the matter.
The UAE Public Prosecution office said it was opening an "immediate investigation" after a "contentious" job advertisement and was even "interrogating the CEO of the business."
Kamal Osman Jamjoom Group, a retail giant, advertised the position in a way that it was made specifically for Emirati nationals "to support the state's efforts to localize jobs".
The job ad was withdrawn, although private UAE-based companies with over 50 employees must ensure that 2% of their staff are UAE nationals - or pay fines up to $1,633 for every position unfilled by an Emirati national.
"This is mockery," said one Twitter user about the Subway vacancy.
Another Twitter post shared by hundreds, read: "The lack of administrative, financial and technical jobs has led to 'sandwich maker'....Oh, what an age!"
"This post-oil transition period is proving difficult," said Emirati researcher Mira Al-Hussein.
Other people defended the vacancy, arguing that there is no shame in such jobs.
The UAE Public Prosecution office said on Saturday that "the job ad has broken both Emiratization regulations and media content standards as it included contentious content".
The Kamal Osman Jamjoom Group apologized for the ad, pleading a "translation error."
اعتذروا خلاص 🤣
— AM90 (@A31290A) December 8, 2022
خطأ مطبعي في حرف او كلمه. مب إعلان كامل. pic.twitter.com/T6MCkC9R2b
It's worth noting that over 90% of the UAE's private sector labor force is expats, as per statistics provided by the International Labor Organization.
UAE nationals are mainly employed in stable and relatively well-paying jobs in the country's vast public sector, the ILO says.
Last month, the UAE's Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation Abdulrahman Abdulmannan al-Awar said that more than 14,000 Emiratis have entered the job market in 2022.
