The Dubai Police Chief, Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim, has called for abolishment of the sponsorship system, as it is a burden on UAE nationals, who owns the responsibility of every aspect concerning the lives of labourers.
An Emirati sponsor will have to attend to every aspect of the worker, including the basic requirements, which would be a major burden, Lt. Gen. Dahi said, when speaking about the role of Labour Inspectors during a workshop held by the Dubai Police department.
Rather than providing labour accommodation, workers should be given a fixed salary, and the freedom to chose the place they intend to live, he pointed out.
Instead, the sponsorship system makes it mandatory for foreign workers to be sponsored by a local company or unit for livelihood and work in a Gulf country.
The Bahrain Labour Minister, Majeed Al Alawi, last month, had announced that Bahrain would abolish the sponsorship system, beginning 1st August this year, making it the first Gulf country to do so, and permit foreigners to swap jobs without having to obtain the consent of their employers.
The decision however, has met with strong resistance from business community and the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which has emerged on a drive to revoke the decision, or atleast freeze the decision, until a better deal was worked out between employers and the labour community.
Posted on 24/6/2009 Social Bookmarking
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