ABU DHABI, Jan. 22nd, 2008 (WAM) -- The UAE Minister of Labour, Dr. Ali Abdullah Al Kaabi, called Tuesday upon counterparts in both labour-sending and labour-receiving countries to make a pledge to work together over the next months to elevate the agreements that are captured in the ministerial joint declaration which is follows their current talks to a multilateral framework for administering contractual labour mobility that can become a model for other regions.

He reiterated the UAE's commitment to the partnership that is expected to ensue from the current Ministerial Consultation on Overseas Employment and Contractual Labour for Countries of Origin and Destination in Asia (Abu Dhabi Dialogue) which kicked off today under the main theme of Partnership for Development in the UAE capital.

Governments of labour sending countries, he said, bear the main responsibility of protecting prospective workers against illegal recruitment practices and the receiving countries have a stake in combating such illegal practices because they jeopardize the entire employment cycle.

The Minister has also reiterated the UAE's full commitment to ensuring that a guest contractual worker?s temporary stay in our country is beneficial to both parties of a work contract.

"But we are also committed to strict enforcement of the law when it comes to persons who are in our country illegally or those who violate the law otherwise," he added.

The 2nd and last day of the gathering which is held under the patronage of UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum has brought together ministers of labour from 21 Asian countries and representatives of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The first gathering of Abu Dhabi Dialogue which aims to forge a new partnership, clearly define its tenants and agree on what constitutes the concerned countries' respective roles and responsibilities "caps a two-year effort by the UAE Ministry of Labour and the International Organization for Migration to create a platform for a sustained dialogue between Asian countries of origin and destination.

The said dialogue, AL-Kaabi added, is set to explore strategies for a more effective and equitable administration of contractual labour mobility that spurs development.

Partnerships expected to be forged between the two groups of countries can only be sustained if they achieve congruence of interests, he stressed.

Contractual labour mobility, he added, can and should generate value and wealth for all those who hold a stake in its facilitation, whether it is the worker who leaves his or her home country in pursuit of improved economic condition for self and family, the country of origin that benefits from reduced unemployment and substantial remittances, or the country of destination that leverages contracted expatriate labour in implementing its development plans.

Noting that long term success of labour mobility hinges on making certain that the interests of all key stakeholders are well served, the UAE Minister said attempting to define and agree to respective roles in the context of emerging partnerships mandates a holistic approach to administering contractual labour mobility.

This, he explained, can be done through "examining opportunities and challenges, advancing creative and effective solutions to problems, as well as assigning clear responsibilities at each phase of the contractual employment cycle."The UAE Ministry of Labour, Al-Kaabi added, is working closely with Colombo Process governments to modernize recruitment in ways that reduce the risks of exploitative practices and streamline the processing of employment applications.

"We are also working with Colombo Process Governments and the IOM to strengthen induction programs designed to help prospective workers understand their rights and responsibilities once they arrive in the UAE, are fully informed about the terms of their contracts and are able to make an informed decision about accepting the employment offer.

More recently, the UAE introduced mission contracts and corresponding mission entry visas that allow prospective workers to enter the country and engage in short term employment ahead of signing a longer term contract with a given employer.

Once the worker arrives in a receiving country, that responsibility is transferred to the host government to extend protection to the parties of the temporary employment contract.

''Guest workers must be afforded the security that they will receive the benefits that they are entitled to under the terms of the contract and the provisions of the labour laws.

The UAE takes pride in the many protective measures that are now embodied in our laws, regulatory and administrative guidelines, the Minister said noting that over the last two years, the country has moved to improve labour conditions in a number of areas including housing, health benefits and the protection of wages.

He cited model workers? accommodation camps in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai which he said are now poised to become housing standards across the UAE; health and safety has become a key focus of our labour inspection mandate.

He also cited the UAE's introduction of health protective measures, including mandatory work stoppage during the mid-day hours in the summer months for construction workers.

In the UAE, employers must, by law, extend health insurance protection to contractual workers.

The UAE, he added, has taken aggressive action to protect wages by mandating that wages be direct-deposited into bank accounts, by imposing heavy fines for non-payment of wages and by granting a release from employer sponsorship to any worker who is owed back pays for a period of more than two months.

UAE's guest workers "are free to remit their savings to their home countries, and the value of remittances from the UAE has peaked over 20 billion US Dollars last year. Wage related disputes are now expeditiously resolved in Dubai?s dedicated Labour Court.""We prepared to discuss with counterparts in labour sending countries how we may be able to contribute to the process of workers? re-integration in their home countries and communities upon departing our country at the end of the employment contract period", he said.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2008.