Labour forum suggests ways to enhance workers' welfare

Abu Dhabi: The Gulf Forum on Temporary Contractual Labour ended on Thursday with concrete recommendations towards workers' welfare.

The forum identified the need to develop coherent and comprehensive policies to effectively manage temporary contractual labour and protect the rights of workers and interest of the nations, said Dr Ali Abdullah Al Ka'abi, UAE Labour Minister.

"We have identified the problem areas and will now focus on translating these into action plans and actual changes. More discussions will continue at the conference in Manila in October 2008," said the minister.

Expressing his satisfaction with the outcome of the forum and the international feedback, he said: "The last four days have been a remarkable achievement, resulting in adoption of the Abu Dhabi Declaration, sharing of information and spirited debates, and the Gulf Forum recommendations on implementing cooperative frameworks."

Detailing the issues at each stage of the temporary contractual labour cycle, Al Ka'abi said: "There are issues from the beginning of the temporary contractual labour cycle to the end. It starts with agents taking over Dh10,000 for processing. Where do poor workers get this amount from? They sell land or sometimes even keep their children as collaterals, we understand. The correction will begin from there with clamping down on illegal recruitment agents. Further the workers will be prepared by induction programmes and once they reach the destination our labour laws must protect them.

"Three main initiatives have been started at our end, the introduction of the electronic wage payment system, building of labour accommodation as per international standards and introduction of health insurance. We are working on implementing these systems in all the emirates.

“Finally the end of the cycle would be preparing the labour to go back and to help him use his savings and knowledge for the better of his home country."

Supporting research activities with respect to the movement of contractual workers and its impact on countries of origin and destination alike and ensuring transparent legal and regulatory instruments covering all workers is part of the recommendations.

Special attention should be given to the critical issues faced by foreign workers, and extending protection to all workers in all phases of the employment cycle, read the recommendation.

While the forum acknowledged the sovereign right of states to develop their own labour and migration policies, participants called for the transparent administration of the temporary contractual employment cycle in a multilateral framework for regional cooperation. The Forum dealt in detail with the issues discussed during the Abu Dhabi Dialogue, which was held on January 21 and 22, before coming up with the recommendations.

Yousuf Abdelghani, Executive Director for Strategy, UAE ministry of Labour, said: "The Gulf Forum has been very successful. Normally we talk amongst ourselves and to ourselves and now we have expanded the consultative process and the strong recommendations reflect this."

The two-day forum was hosted by UAE 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.

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

Key recommendations

Enhance partnerships between countries of origin and destination on the basis of congruence of interests of all those who hold a stake in the success of temporary contractual labour.

Ensure that the workers are protected against illegal or unfair recruitment practices and make sure that they make informed decisions when engaging in the offered employment.

Uphold the protection of workers under the national laws of countries of destination during the period of temporary residence, including the areas of health and safety, accommodation, decent work environment and protection of wages, as informed by relevant international labour standards.

Consider means to allow for a successful reintegration of the workers in their countries of origin at the end of the employment cycle.