Finding 'win-win' solutions for workers and employers

Abu Dhabi: The UAE is committed to sustaining the partnerships that emerged from a conference on temporary labourers, said the Labour Minister.

Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi, Minister of Labour, was speaking yesterday at the opening session of the Gulf Forum on Temporary Contractual Labour.

The two-day forum will address issues of contractual labour in GCC countries, including labour relations and rights, and a framework for collaboration between the GCC and Asian states.

The forum comes close on the heels of the Ministerial Consultation on Overseas Employment and Contractual Labour for Countries of Origin and Destination, which concluded on Tuesday. The forum will take up issues addressed during the Abu Dhabi Dialogue in depth, said the minister.

"The Gulf Forum will address issues ranging from aspects of collaboration between Asian countries of origin and the Gulf states, the intrinsic characteristics of temporary contractual employment and labour conditions and relations that are specific to the region," he said.

Upholding rights

Contributions that civil organisations can make to deal with the challenges of temporary contractual employment will also be discussed.

The Abu Dhabi Declaration laid the stage for a Partnership for Development, which that recognised both the particularities of labour markets in Gulf states and the need to uphold and protect contracted workers' rights and welfare, Dr Al Ka'abi noted.

Participants at the forum include ministers from partner countries to GCC countries and Asian countries of origin, representatives of civil society organisations and labour and employers' organisations.

The forum is being held in partnership with the GCC Council of Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs and in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Arab Labour Organisation and International Organisation for Migration.

Nada Al Nashif, ILO Regional Director for the Arab States, said, "We know that labour mobility in line with the pillars of decent work rights, employment, social protection and social dialogue is important for prosperity. The ILO is committed to working with our GCC partners to ensure win-win solutions for workers and employers in the region."

New talks: Second symposium

The first Regional Symposium on Foreign Workers in GCC was held in Doha in April 2007, where government officials, experts in population and labour issues discussed issues regarding temporary workers.

Apart from recommendations that were adopted after the symposium, it was decided to hold a second symposium in Abu Dhabi in January 2008. The symposium is now called the Gulf Forum on Contractual Temporary Labour.