UAE will not abolish the sponsorship system

Rather, the authorities felt that the priority was to adjust the existing labour laws to accommodate employees who had been made redundant, but, wanted to live in the country and seek job.

The draft regulation for this initiative includes a visa extension for the redundant employee, who has been out of job for one month. The measure has already been submitted to the Cabinet, and is awaiting approval.

The Labour Minister in Bahrain, Majeed Alawi, had last week announced that Bahrain has activated a clause in the Labour Market Regulatory Authority, to cancel the sponsorship system, thereby making it the first GCC nation to do so.

Ever-since this announcement, other GCC countries too have been the subject of speculation, and people are curious if the other countries too, will follow the same.

A senior official involved with policy creation at the Ministry of Labour said that the UAE has no plan of implementing the sponsorship regulation at the moment, as if it is good in Bahrain, it does not imply that it would work out well for UAE too.

The sponsorship regulation is the legal basis for residency and employment for the 4.1million odd expatriates in the UAE. It is a complex system, involving several government departments. Under this regulation, an expatriate cannot change jobs without permission from his/her sponsor.

The former Deputy Minister of Labour feels that abolishing the system would be difficult in the UAE, as during his tenure, the issue has never been discussed. There is no need to abolish the sponsorship system, as several government departments and external organizations are tied to it.

Posted on 13/5/2009

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