Officials in the retail sector have identified eight factors behind the low level of Emiratisation in the sector in Abu Dhabi, the most prominent of which are the control of certain nationalities over the sector, the need for previous experiences to work with it, as well as the lack of training opportunities for citizens, the existence of a maximum pension, and low salary levels.

They demanded that citizens be given equal opportunities to work in the sector, and provide the necessary training for younger generations, stressing that standardizing the pension is an important requirement that will partially change the view of the sector and attract more citizens to work in it.

The statistical book for Abu Dhabi 2019 revealed the low percentage of Emiratisation in the sector, pointing out that the percentage of citizens working in wholesale and retail trade and vehicle repairs is 3.2% of the total citizens working in the emirate.

Foreign domination

In detail, the retail expert, former CEO of the Abu Dhabi Cooperative Society, Ibrahim Al-Bahr, said that the number of citizens working in the retail sector in Abu Dhabi is very small and their presence in the sector is rare, despite its importance and its role in economic diversification.

The sea attributed this to several reasons, most notably the lack of space for citizens to be strong in the retail sector, in light of the dominance of some nationalities, especially Asian, on the sector, and the scarcity of training opportunities available to citizens.

Al-Bahr rejected what is said about the citizens' unwillingness to work in the sector, stressing that citizens are ready to work and prove their efficiency in the sector, if there are real opportunities for them.

He demanded that citizens be given equal opportunities to work in the sector, and provide the necessary training for young generations, pointing out that there are great similarities between the obstacles to settlement in retail trade in the emirates of the state.

Payroll and permanence

For his part, the head of the Consumer Cooperative Union, Majed Rahma Al Shamsi, said that working in the retail sector is currently not attractive to citizens in general, in light of the low levels of salaries, the long-term that reaches nearly nine hours, in addition to the lack of leaves on official occasions, and that there is a limit Maximum pension, considering that the retail sector is part of the private sector.

He pointed out that the government has finally started working with the private sector to discuss ways to unify the pension, stressing that it is an important requirement for citizens, and will change in part from looking at the sector, and attract more citizens to work in it.

Al Shamsi agreed that there is a lack of training opportunities available to citizens in the retail sector, calling on the chambers of commerce and industry in the country to play a major role in the training of citizens.

He pointed out the importance of generalizing what was agreed upon between the Dubai government and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, by arranging to train 1,000 citizens to work in the available opportunities in the emirate, calling for limiting the number of citizens who do not work in the state, while limiting the jobs and specializations that the state needs, during the 10 or 20 years. Next, direct education and training for citizens to occupy these majors.

Al Shamsi pointed out that there are 400 citizens and citizens currently working in the "Union Cooperative Society", stressing that it is a large number, compared to the rest of the retail trade establishments, and said that there are citizen girls working in unfamiliar jobs, such as working on cash boxes.

Unattractive sector

In the same context, Abdullah Eid, Deputy Director of Operations at Abu Dhabi Cooperative Society, said that the retail sector is not attractive to citizens in general, given the nature of work, which requires long periods of time, work on official holidays, as well as the salaries of the private sector that is less than its counterpart In the government sector.

He added that any comparison is in the interest of working in the government sector, especially in the petroleum sector, which is known for the difficult working conditions, but its salaries are high and compensate for the difficult working conditions.

Eid pointed out that a large part of the work of citizens in general in the retail sector is transitional and temporary, as it is seen as a transitional job in which citizens work for short periods, due to the lack of significant advantages, compared to the government sector.

Eid called for increasing the benefits, facilities and salaries to make the sector more attractive to citizens, and to increase training opportunities for citizen youth in the retail sector, who are students in schools and universities, to understand the nature of work in the sector, and its role in the gross domestic product, stressing that "Abu Dhabi Cooperative" is keen to train groups Of the citizen students annually during their studies.

Khaja: salaries and job security

The general manager of the Emirates Cooperative Society, Mohammed Youssef Al Khaja, said that the retail sector is part of the private sector, and abides by its laws related to work hours, salaries, and others.

He stressed that citizens prefer to work in the government sector, given the high salaries in it and the high job security, compared to the private sector known to the contrary.

He added that the competition in work is intense between different nationalities in the retail sector, pointing out that the UAE market is open and the percentage of residents in it is large, compared to the number of citizens, in addition to the need of the retail sector for years of long experience.

Al-Khaja pointed out that the retail sector institutions prefer to employ other nationalities, especially Asian, given that the burden of salaries and the rest of the financial obligations are less compared to the employment of citizens.

He explained that citizens are concentrated in the retail sector in specific administrative positions, and not operational or technical jobs that require a large number of employees of a technical nature, such as payment fund employees, putting goods on shelves, helping customers, and others.

Resettlement obstacles in the retail sector

Domination of some nationalities, especially Asian.

The scarcity of training opportunities available to citizens.

Low salary levels.

Long working hours of up to nine hours.

Lack of official holidays.

There is a maximum pension.

Absence of high job security.

The retail sector needs years of experience.