Not So Simple
Going back to the suggestion by Henry09 to just walk off an airplane somewhere, this is certainly discussed every day in our frustration, but it is not so simple - especially if you have a spouse in UAE and children in school there.
The deck is totally stacked in favor of the employer in UAE, which is Yemen masquerading with a more western facade. If you were to pull such a stunt, it must be done when the family is out of the country and you must be willing to go to the airpot and get out with what you can carry before they alert the border police, or if done outside you must never go back, leaving all of your belongings behind, carrying an international scoffllaw notice from the banks and never being able to come back to GCC for a job or even daring land there while working for a future employer.
They can accuse you of anything and prevent you from leaving the country, including by having you incarcerated. They can cancel your visa and force you to leave within 30 days. They can ban you from working for any other employer. Your name could be on an arrest list - imagine you have a diversion some day in the future, land in Dubai and get arrested. Or you have to refuse flights to that part of the world - that will impress your future employers.
Etcetera. We all want to do exactly as you suggest, Henry, but the ramifications must be carefully weighed and the action carefully planned. What we would really prefer is to go to work, have everything proper, do our jobs in the best way we can, and then get paid what was agreed for doing the job.
We are doing our part in the above equation; we just want management to do its part by making things right and paying us. We do not want to flee the UAE like criminals and have our names on arrest notices at the airports in the GCC.