UAE | Employment
Labour law 'needs radical changes'
The Federal National Council (FNC) yesterday urged the Government to introduce radical changes in the citizenship and labour laws.
- By Samir Salama, Associate Editor
- Published: 00:36 May 7, 2008
Abu Dhabi: The Federal National Council (FNC) yesterday urged the Government to introduce radical changes in the citizenship and labour laws.
The changes entail that a six-year residency limit would be applicable to all workers, that the labour law would cover workers in free zones and that only the Federal Government would be authorised to grant passports and citizenship.
The Internal Affairs and Defence Committee said in its report, which was brought before the FNC yesterday, that foreign workers should leave the UAE after six years and only come back after obtaining a new residency visa. Lawmakers argued that, by applying this rule, the Government would be free of any obligations which might be imposed by international conventions regarding its foreign manpower.
These proposals require the approval of the Cabinet and signature of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan before they are made law.
Official statistics put the number of foreign workers at 3.113 million in 260,000 companies accounting for 90 per cent of the workforce in the private sector. It is estimated the number of Emiratis will be less than eight per cent of the workforce in 2009 and the proportion will drop to four per cent by 2020.
Trading in visas
FNC members demanded that the Labour Law be amended to make it applicable to workers employed by companies operating in free zones across the country. They suggested a federal law be issued to regulate employing domestic workers and make absconding from employers a crime.
The FNC members also recommended unified ID cards be quickly issued for all foreigners working and living in the country to curb problems caused by people who break residency laws.
Lawmakers also proposed severe punishments for people involved in trading in visas or bringing in workers on employment visas without real jobs in return for money.
They demanded clear criteria be worked out to regulate issuing visit visas and tourist permits and the right to obtain visas be limited to public joint stock and semi-government companies.
The FNC members demanded that Emiratis manage tourist companies and a central database for visas at the federal level be set up.
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