UAE’s policies on labour mobility garner praise

When an individual leaves the shores of his country to take up employment as a labourer in a foreign land, he sets up a chain of procedures that impact not only his personal welfare, but also the collective welfare of his host country. The foremost link in this procedural chain is a formal work contract that transparently, and unambiguously, states the terms and conditions of his employment, paving the way for a mutually beneficial relationship between the employer and the employee. This, in turn, helps strengthen the global issue of migrant labour, enabling the many issues connected to it to stand on firm ground.

In this regard, the Abu Dhabi Dialogue, established in 2008 by the UAE as an initiative to streamline policies and practices for contractual labour mobility in Asia, in partnership with seven destination countries and 11 countries of origin for labour recruitments, has garnered praise from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) for its exemplary role in the region. The international Conference on Labour Mobility — Enabler for Sustainable Development, that concluded in Abu Dhabi yesterday, was yet another milestone for the UAE’s impressive achievements.