The Hindu : Kerala News : New labour laws to help expats

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 31, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

New labour laws to help expats

By Vimala Vasan

ABU DHABI: A series of new rules and regulations for expatriate employees in the Gulf States of UAE and Qatar have been implemented or are in the offing this year. The rules spell good news for legally employed Indian expats but sound warning bells for defaulters, illegal workers and others flouting local labour and immigration laws.

Issues concerning expatriate workers have been the hot subject for public discussion and dominated news headlines in local dailies in the UAE over the past couple of weeks. The UAE's new dynamic Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, Ali Abdullah Al Kaabi, has been regularly interacting with the media in a bid to inform the public about the new regulations being proposed by the Ministry and various measures being implemented to resolve a host of problems related to expatriate workers in the country.

Unpaid workers

The Minister's personal involvement in trying to resolve issues related to unpaid workers, a recurrent problem here, and his warnings to erring employers have been welcomed by Indian expats.

One key recommendation that will benefit all categories of expat employees is to allow workers to transfer their sponsorship after two years of service with their current employer. At present, only some professional categories are permitted to transfer their sponsorship.

The Ministry will also soon make it mandatory for firms intending to recruit workers to get the contracts signed by job-seekers back home, to ensure that the workers have a salary contract that is agreeable to them before they arrive in the UAE. This would prevent employers from changing the salary amounts once the workers are hired. A new work permit model with full details of basic and full salaries is also to become operational soon.

The Ministry is also mulling the option of exit permits for expats going on holiday in a bid to do away with the current practice of holding of employee passports by companies. It also proposes setting up a new holding company for supply of manpower to bring skilled foreign manpower in the country. The move will help regulate the inflow of expatriate manpower and lead to authentic employment contracts that reflect the real needs of the market. This could also prevent exploitation of Gulf job-seekers by touts in India acting as recruiting agents.

The Ministry has also began thorough scrutiny of employment visas and its approval by a broader panel to prevent favouritism and ensure that only people qualified for the job at hand are employed. A `new look' more client-friendly Ministry has been assured by the Minister, who is taking pains to provide a better atmosphere for workers seeking the services of the Ministry.

A federal draft law allowing workers' organisations and unions for the first time in the UAE is also being studied by the authorities, according to media reports.

The UAE Ministry is also planning to come down heavily or defaulting workers, companies and visa traders in order to regulate the labour market in the country and support the country's moves towards nationalisation.

The Minister has, among various recommendations submitted to the UAE Cabinet, proposed that defaulting workers who leave their sponsors and take up other employment in the country should face prison terms of not less than a month, to be followed by deportation.

The worker will not be allowed to return to the country for one year and lose the right to take up any job for five years. Companies recruiting illegal workers will also have to pay heavy fines and will be denied right to obtain work permits for a certain period, a local report said.

Qatar implements it

In Qatar, a pioneering move by the Government saw the introduction of the new Labour Law earlier this month. The law provides a comprehensive legal framework for the protection of the rights of all workers — nationals and expatriate — with special emphasis on their terms of employment, working conditions, end of service benefits, health and safety and seeks to penalise erring employers, according to details of the law published by the Peninsula daily. The law enables setting up of work inspection mechanism and formation of labour associations and makes it mandatory for all employment contracts to be authenticated by the Labour Department.

The Labour Counsellor at the Indian Embassy in Qatar told The Hindu that the new law would greatly reduce problems related to expat workers in industry. It is not sure whether other categories like drivers, cooks, etc. would be covered. Last year, the embassy recorded 500 to 600 cases related to workers issues.

There are around 1,73,000 Indians residing in Qatar, 70 per cent of whom are from Kerala.

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