BBC: Sharjah, one of the seven emirates that makes up the UAE, is to bar workers in certain jobs from applying for driving licenses, a newspaper has reported.
The ban will cover 86 categories of mainly menial jobs - including cooks, housemaids, gardeners, and tailors.
It was brought in by Sharjah's police traffic department to curb congestion and pollution, the report says.
The United Arab Emirates have one of the highest ratios of car ownership to population in the world.
The report, which appeared in the Gulf News daily newspaper, was linked to from Sharjah's official police website.
The impact of the ban on workers may be compounded by the poor state of public transport in the emirate.
Many, if not most, of those hit by the driving ban will be foreign workers in low-paid, unskilled jobs.
The report said driving licence applications would still be accepted from those with university degrees. Emirate Car Ban on Menial Workers >>> | December 1, 2008
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