Page 132 - UAE Truncal States_Neat
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Administering a Tribal Society
        labour representative at Tarlf. Ahmad bin Hasan, of the Sudan tribe,
        who had previously been head guard at various camps, occupied this
        position in 1903. By this time Thani bin Murshid had entered into a
        partnership with a foreign company, African and Eastern, to provide
        various maintenance services in Tarlf.
          The expansion of company activity in the western part of
        Abu Dhabi coincided with the start of oil exports from an offshore
        Held in 1962. At the same time the Ruler started to delegate some
        authority through the introduction of a rudimentary administration
        in Abu Dhabi town. The beduin loo were subject increasingly to
        new administrative processes, particularly where they took up
        employment.
          In 1964 Ahmad bin Hasan was the Rulers representative with the
        drilling contractor Santa Fe at their base camp near Tarlf, but
        eventually his authority was further increased and he became known
        as the amir of Tarlf. The appointment of Ruler’s representative was
        conferred on a member of the ruling family, and in 1964 it was the
        Ruler’s nephew Muhammad bin Khalid, who was not resident in
        Tarlf. The Ruler also often delegated his son Sultan, head of the
        police detachment at Tarlf and at times also head of the municipality
        in Abu Dhabi, to have overall responsibility in the entire area where
        the oil company and its contractors operated. He was present at
        many a meeting between the company’s personnel officers and the
        beduin when disputes were discussed and on occasion he visited the
        rigs to smooth out differences. At times his brother Sa'id was also
        involved in such tasks.
          After Shaikh Zayid became the Ruler of Abu Dhabi in August
        1966, overall responsibility in the oil company’s areas remained for
        some time with his nephew Muhammad bin Khalid, while Ahmad bin
        Hasan was still in charge of day-to-day labour relations.63 In
        November 1968 a labour inspector was installed in Tarlf to observe
        the implementation of the labour law which had been promulgated
        on 1 January 1967, and to represent the labour department which had
        been set up recently in Abu Dhabi under the chairmanship of Shaikh
        Ahmad bin Hamad. In the summer of 1968 Shaikh Muhammad bin
        Buti, the Ruler’s cousin on his mother’s side, was appointed
        Governor of Tarlf. As the senior government official in the area he
        ensured that the local labour force was treated by all contractors
        according to the labour law and to the practices laid down in a code
        by the oil company.
          During the 1970s, when employment with the contractors of the oil
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