Since 2007, Ethad Airways has embarked on its Emiratisation programme which is aimed at replacing migrant workers with local workers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to Etihad's vice-president of Emiratisation strategy, Ali Al Shamsi, it was not always easy to convince prospective employees to work the odd hours required by the aviation industry. 'As a culture, we weren't really in favour of letting our daughters and sons to work outside of normal hours, especially in the middle of the night,' Al Shamsi said. 'We started to communicate with families, and sometimes we would invite them to the airport to see the work environment, to see our employees wearing the Etihad Abaya, doing their job,' he said. Apparently, the programme has been successful. On 27 January 2016, the company announced that it now employed more than 3,000 Emirati staff, 40 per cent of whom were hired in 2015, including 26 Emirati executives and senior managers. The airline plans to employ a further 5,000 Emiratis by 2020. In reaching its long-term goal, the airline recently marked the graduation of 280 Emiratis from its development programme. More than 400 cadets are also enrolled in the Ethad Airways' cadet pilot programme (Adapted from Samoglou, 2016).

Questions

1 How does the legal and political context shape the Emiratisation programme in Etihad?

2 What are possible implications of Emiratisation for the Emirati and migrant workers?