Collective action allowed by UAE labour law
Gents,
for 85 dhs you can get yourself a copy of the UAE labour law.
You will then discover that under Part IX of this law employees of any company based in the UAE are legally allowed collective action against their employers for matters relating to their contracts. The process is clearly described in the law and basically consists in sending the complaint to the employer AND the appropriate body of the UAE Ministry of Labour. If after 1 week the controversy is not settled amicably the employees have the right to ask the Ministry to conduct the arbitration until a settlment is reached. In the absence of an amicable settlment the Ministry will then take the lead, hear the facts from both parties and come to a decision.
If you really want to get serious about this issue (and create a precedent to avoid deliberate future changes in the contractual conditions) it is advisable to hire a local lawyer and proceed collectively under the auspices of the law. Email/ letter writing to management is ok as a first step to avoid the 'silent consent' and to vent out the frustration but will not change the situation from what I have seen so far.