Expatriate labour force in GCC "contractual, temporary": Labour Ministry official |
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ABU DHABI, Jan. 21st, 2008 (WAM) -- A host of labour experts, representatives of labour exporting and importing countries and concerned international organizations hailed initiatives and efforts by the UAE leadership and Government to safeguard the rights of expatriate workers and to improve their living conditions.
The remarks were made Monday on the sidelines of the Ministerial Consultation on Overseas Employment and Contractual Labour for Countries of Origin and Destination in Asia which kicked off in Abu Dhabi. Hosted by the UAE and co-organized by International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Ministerial Consultation has for the first time brought the 11 Colombo Process states with the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, Yemen and three additional Asian countries of destination, namely the Republic of Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. Assistant Undersecretary of the UAE Labour Ministry Yousef Abdelghani said an air of optimism and transparency has dominated the first sessions of the two-day gathering - known as Abu Dhabi Dialogue - which aims to establish a wider framework between countries of destination and countries of origin. He dubbed the meeting as an ''unfrequented step'' in the dynamics of labour market. ''Stakeholders have agreed to take whatever responsibilities and obligations mandated by possible partnerships to be hopefully between countries of origin and destination'', stressed the senior official who was speaking at a press briefing. "Memorandums of understanding (MoUs) already signed between countries of destination, including the Gulf, and countries of origin have to be promoted to permanent international and multilateral agreements that would help preserve the demographic composition of countries of destination." The official said GCC countries' expatriate labour force plays a significant role in boosting economies of respective hosting countries but is temporary and contractual by nature. The issue of limiting the length of expatriate workers' stay in host countries to a maximum of 6 years (3+3) will not be discussed, Abdelghani stressed adding there are plans to forge partnerships between countries of origin and countries of destination to develop an executive action plan for labour issues. For his part, Eskandar Zalmi, advisor to the Labour Minister for International Affairs, said the objective of Abu Dhabi Dialogue is to find ways to manage labour mobility. The 122-member International Organization for Migration (IOM) has already started to adopt the term mobility as a replacement to migration and the organization's literature clearly shows this shift in attitude towards the issue", Zalmi added. Gervais Appave, Senior Migration Policy Advisor and Editor of the World Migration Report, IOM, said movement of labour is also circular, meaning laborers leave the countries of origin for work then move back to the country of origin then back again to the country of destination. "The Abu Dhabi Dialogue is a milestone in regional cooperation on contractual labour mobility", said IOM Director General Brunson McKinley, at the opening session today. "It serves as a forum to mobilize new ideas and develop practical approaches and partnerships to promote a comprehensive regional framework for contractual labour mobility between Asian and GCC states with the aim of promoting the welfare and well-being of workers and the development needs of origin and destination countries," he added. Topics of today's five sessions of the Ministerial Consultation have encompassed optimizing benefits of organized mobility for contractual labour, welfare and protection of contractual overseas workers and their families, building institutional capacity and interstate cooperation. Participants also discussed the draft declaration and process for elaboration of a plan of action. A closed-door meeting chaired by UAE Minister of Labour Dr Ali Abdullah Al-Ka'abi will be held tomorrow by labour Ministers of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines and Singapore.© Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2008.
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