The Hindu : National : UAE to grant short-term work permits from January

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Monday, Dec 31, 2007
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UAE to grant short-term work permits from January

Dubai: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will start granting short-term work permits for six months from January 2 owing labour shortage in the gulf country.

The move is expected to help Indians seeking employment in the Emirates.

The decision, announced by the UAE Minister for Labour, Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka’abi, will allow companies to apply for mission work permits for their employees who are in probation period or who are in the country for a short-term job.

Greater flexibility

“Implementing the mission work permit will help solve the problem of people working on visit visa and it will give greater flexibility in the relationship between the employer and employee,” the Minister was quoted as saying in the Gulf News.

At present, people working while on a visit visa is illegal and are thus not protected by the labour laws.

“Contracts that protect the workers’ rights will be issued along with mission work permits and bank guarantees. They will be liquidated in case of non payment of salaries,” the Minister said.

No ban to be enforced

Brigadier Mohammad Al Merri, Director-General of the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency department, said the new type of work permit would limit the misuse of visit visas.

No six-month ban would be applied for workers on mission work permit if they decided to discontinue their work during the probation period, as per the new rule.

Companies with less than 500 workers could initially get as much as 50 per cent of their total labour force as quota for the mission work permit, while companies with more than 500 workers could get 100 per cent of their total staff as quota. — PTI

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