Gulf | Bahrain
Businessmen against residency cap
A proposal to limit the residency of unskilled workers in the Gulf to six years has come under scathing attack from the business community in the region.
- By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
- Published: 23:05 October 7, 2007
- Image Credit: Reuters
- The Gulf Cooperation Council is home to about 13 million expatriates, making up 37 per cent of the total population.
Manama: A proposal to limit the residency of unskilled workers in the Gulf to six years has come under scathing attack from the business community in the region.
The plan announced by Dr Majeed Al Alawi, Bahraini Minister of Labour, in an interview with Gulf News last week, is part of measures of check the influx of foreign workers which he says erodes the national character of the GCC states.
The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry yesterday warned that the proposal could not apply to the markets in the GCC and threatened their stability.
The chamber strongly criticised the proposal saying that the GCC Summit in Manama rejected a similar suggestion in 2005.
Businessmen in the UAE said it would create a shortage of trained personnel and affect the labour market.
Ali Al Kamali, managing director of Datamatix, fears the proposal would aggravate the labour problem.
"There is already a shortage of trained workers. How can a company replace an experienced person who has completed six years in the middle of a major project?"
Mohammad Tamjid Abdullah, deputy managing director of Damas group, said: "People may decide against coming here and those who come will not have an incentive to give their best."
Call for evaluation
Omar Mohammad Osman, owner of a contracting company in Abu Dhabi, said: "In the GCC, we find that maintaining the culture and identity against an influx of [foreign] labour presents a hurdle governments must overcome, but the price of adopting such policies will always be the stability of the labour market."
In Oman, some business leaders called for a careful evaluation of the proposal, and others felt that companies would be reluctant to invest in training programmes.
"The proposal could work, but it needs careful study," Khalil Bin Abdullah Al Khonji, Chairman of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Gulf News. Citing similar laws in Singapore and Cyprus, he said a six-year cap was adequate in the Gulf.
Shaikh Nasser Al Hosni, a Majlis Ashura member, businessman and former member of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the six-year cap could work against businesses but also felt that it would generate jobs for nationals.
"Industries invest in training workers and once they gained enough experience they would have to go. The loyalty of workers can be expected only in long-term employment."
- With reports from Sunil Vaidya in Muscat, Shakir Husain in Dubai and Ahmed Elewa in Abu Dhabi
Your comments
I think it is natural and proper for a country to ensure the welfare of their own people. I have just one suggestion: Can the GCC nations also help the other countries where these workers come from so that they would not leave their countries anymore to look for jobs? Maybe through investments.
Ferdinand
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 08, 2007, 09:46
It's very difficult to implement such regulation because if the country does not have a reserve replacement employee, then the labour market will be affected.
Ahmed
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: October 08, 2007, 09:08
This proposal is not viable because there is a huge shortage of skilled and unskilled workers in the GCC.
Thanka
Manama,Bahrain
Posted: October 08, 2007, 08:57
There will surely be a shortage of experienced workers if the proposal is approved. Companies might also start charging the visa fees and cancel workers? benefits because of it.
Vikas
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 08, 2007, 08:03
This is a very sensible and wise albeit long overdue decision by the Gulf countries.
It is imperative that expatriates do not wipe out the national character of the GCC. It is high time the GCC diversifies the influx of foreign workers and not be dependent on two or three nationalities.
Olivier
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 08, 2007, 07:33
Expatriates are the backbone of many sectors of the GCC economies. Instead of imposing a cap on their residency, they should be granted permanent status or naturalized. That's how great countries like Canada, Australia and the United States were built.
Zak
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 08, 2007, 07:27
If a six year cap was applied to expatriate workers, oversees companies would stop investing in the region and workers would not want to come here to work since it would be too temporary for most. Consider this: If the expats were forced to leave after six years, who would do their work?
Anthony
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 08, 2007, 06:37
News Editor's choice
-
6,000 cups and counting: Addicted to that tea
This cafeteria in Al Mamzar attracts thousands of customers daily, including the rich and not so rich
-
Swimming pool horror: Twins hospitalised
Twins rushed to hospital after collapsing from chlorine inhalation at swimming pool in their villa
-
Play your cards right with credit card interest
UAE Central Bank plans to cap interest rates, but are you paying thirty-five per cent now?
