Labor Standards Development Authority in Sharjah integrates workers into Sharjah's cultural landscape

In celebration of naming Sharjah, the “World Book Capital 2019 '', and on the occasion of the 38th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair recent held at the Expo Center, the Labor Standards Development Authority in Sharjah (LSDA), succeeded in implemented an ambitious plan for integrating hundreds of workers in the rich cultural scene of Sharjah for the first time ever.

The LSDA managed, in coordination with the Sharjah Book Authority and several public and private sector institutions that are employing large numbers of workers, to coordinate the attendance of hundreds of workers for the cultural seminars organized during the Sharjah Book Fair and held in their languages.

His Excellency Salem Yousef Al Qaseer, Chairman of the Labor Standards Development Authority in Sharjah, said that the Authority, in the first of its kind experiment, formed teams of its staff to coordinate the attendance of workers from their accommodations to the lecture halls in Sharjah Expo, in order to attend these educational seminars and lectures in their own languages, then coordinated their return back to their accommodations.

He praised the efforts and cooperation of the public and private sector institutions that coordinated with the Department to have their workers participate in these educational seminars. “I hope that the success of this first experiment will serve as a catalyst for expanding it to the rest of the institutions employing large numbers of labor. This will result in having the workers be involved in the cultural boost witnessed in the Emirate of Sharjah. He attributed the emirate’s cultural growth to the keen interest of continued support of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. He added, “We have received the usual full support from the public and private sector institutions, in coordinating the participation of their workers in the cultural seminars. We are pleased to thank the officials of these institutions for their support, namely the Sharjah Municipality, Bee'ah, Al Dhaid Municipality, Hamriyah Municipality and Fast Building Contracting Company. ''

He pointed out that these cultural activities of the Authority, which aim to integrate workers in the busy cultural life of Sharjah, are part of LSDA’s strategic plan to improve the working environment in the Emirate of Sharjah and provide the necessary support to employers and workers in the Emirate. It also came as part of the themes naming Sharjah as the World Book Capital 2019, awarded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as the first Gulf city to hold the title, and the third Arab and 19th world city. Sharjah is named for promoting the themes of one society, promoting a culture of reading, heritage revival, children and youth, community outreach, and publishing industry. The LSDA seeks to promote a culture of reading among workers, instill the knowledge virtue and to make reading a daily habit.

As part of its efforts to promote a culture of reading among workers, and in collaboration with the Sharjah Culture Without Borders initiative, the LSDA has launched the initiative of having a private library in every labor accommodation. These libraries will be provided with various sources of information in several languages ​​and will be constantly updated to ensure that workers benefit from them. The project is also part of the Authority's strategic plan to expand workers' general knowledge.

The LSDA was established by an Emiri Decree issued by His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, out of his keen interest to provide an innovative and ideal working environment in the Emirate of Sharjah. The Authority aims to provide support to employers and workers in cooperation and coordination with the concerned government institutions and private establishments, to improve the performance of the sector, and to keep pace with the development witnessed by the Emirate of Sharjah.