Labour Ministry plans to set rules on sub-contracting

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs said it plans to expand the practice of sub-contracting to cover activities other than construction works.

It said that it will also introduce a body to verify sub-contracts, and conduct field visits to ensure that contractors are doing their job on the ground, and not just signing phony job agreements in order to get visas for additional workers.

Sources at the ministry revealed that some committee members, assigned to study the plan, disagree over the idea of extending sub-contracting facilities to non-construction firms, according to the Al Khaleej Arabic daily.

They maintain that such facilities would lead to a fresh influx of expatriate labour. Members have expressed misgivings that sub-contracting tasks engender disputes over contracts and labour dues complaints, as most sub-contracting firms suffer financial problems.

Sources also said that the ministry is going ahead with its plan to extend sub-contracting facilities to other private firms. At the same time, it will set rules to regulate the implementation of the plan.

According to these rules, any sub-contractor must issue employees with labour cards, pay their wages, supervise them on the site, protect them from occupational injuries and diseases, and compensate them in case of injury.

The sub-contractor must also grant workers their annual leave, and end of service gratuity. These requirements are not the responsibility of the main contractor, who offers the sub-contract.

The committee, according to the sources, has amended a ministerial circular concerning the implementation of Article 41 of Labour Law No. 8 for 1980, so that the sub-contractor could be held responsible in the event of failure to pay workers their dues.

If a contractor strikes a deal with a sub-contractor to fully set up a given project, the former will not be issued, during the duration period of that sub-contracting, with labour permits for any additional number of workers required for the project.

If the contractor assigns part of the project to the sub-contractor, he will not be issued with labour permits for any number of workers required for the part he assigned to the sub-contractor.

This approach is to be adopted by the ministry to limit any unnecessary employment of labourers from abroad. It is a bid to provide legal cover for private sector firms engaged in sub-contracting deals, to supervise their performance, and to streamline economic activities in the country.

The ministry will prepare a computer programme for recording original contracts and sub-contracts.