The Vietnamese men detained by police worked for South Korean firm Sungwon and formed part of a group of 200 workers from various countries who marched on the UAE Labour Ministry's offices on Tuesday, but they had stayed on the scene continuing protests even after others left, according to the newspaper.

"We know that 95 Vietnamese workers are in police custody now and are kept at different locations. We are trying to coordinate with the police about this," Le Thinh Ha, the labour attache at the Vietnamese Embassy in Abu Dhabi, was quoted as saying.

Each worker owed wages for several months totalling about 5,000 dirhams ($1,360), the National reported, citing Labour Ministry official Eisa al-Zarouni, who also said construction firm Sungwon was facing financial problems.

Wage disputes involving poorly paid migrant construction workers and employers are frequent in the UAE, which has experienced a huge building boom in recent years.

But after the real estate market's crash in late 2008, construction firms and property developers in the emirate have run into financial troubles and thousands of workers have been laid off.

The UAE Labour Ministry said in March it has banned 800 of the country's largest companies from hiring new employees after they missed a Nov. 30 deadline to join the government’s new Wage Protection System (WPS).

Under the scheme, all employers must pay their staff through banks, allowing the ministry to monitor whether companies are defaulting on salaries or making illegal deductions.

Maktoob Business - May 6, 2010