Unskilled foreign workers and domestic help will be allowed a maximum stay of six years in the UAE, the Minister of Labour said yesterday.
Speaking to Gulf News from Geneva, Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi said a total of 2 million unskilled workers will be considered "temporary contractual workers under an agreement with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM)".
"The UAE will receive an official document from the IOM recognising the change of the workers' position from being immigrants to temporary contractual workers," Al Ka'abi said.
"This will allow the country to proceed with rules making the maximum stay of workers six years an initial stay of 3 years to be renewed only once for a similar period," he said.
Medicals for UAE-bound workers
Expat workers who wish to take up jobs in the UAE will also undergo medical tests in their countries to ensure they are free from contagious diseases, the Minister of Labour told Gulf News yesterday.
Speaking to Gulf News from Geneva, Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi, Minister of Labour, said no time-frame has been fixed to implement this. It follows an agreement with the Geneva-based International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Al Ka'abi is in Geneva to attend the 95th Conference of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
At present, he said, workers undergo health tests in the UAE and many who test positive for such illnesses run away posing a major threat to the country.
Al Ka'abi said GCC countries would continue to work closely with the countries the workers were travelling to, to ensure decent conditions.
"Participants in the annual International Labour Organisation conference also recognised the need to pay attention to problems faced by employers in GCC countries when recruiting overseas workers."
He said a total of two million unskilled workers would be considered "temporary contractual workers" under an agreement with the International Organisation for Migration. The UAE will receive an official document from the IOM recognising the change of the workers' position from being immigrants to temporary contractual workers, Al Ka'abi said.
"This will allow the country to proceed with rules making the maximum stay for [unskilled] workers six years an initial stay of three years to be renewed only once for a similar period."
Al Ka'abi was speaking following a meeting with Brunson McKinley, Director-General of the Geneva-based organisation.
In his speech at the 95th Conference of the ILO on Monday, Al Ka'abi said foreign workers in the six GCC countries were temporary and not immigrant workers.
"They are hired to temporarily perform specific labour or services. Once this is completed they return to their home countries in accordance with rules of the countries of origin and the destination countries," he said.
Speaking to Gulf News from Geneva, Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi, Minister of Labour, said no time-frame has been fixed to implement this. It follows an agreement with the Geneva-based International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Al Ka'abi is in Geneva to attend the 95th Conference of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
At present, he said, workers undergo health tests in the UAE and many who test positive for such illnesses run away posing a major threat to the country.
Al Ka'abi said GCC countries would continue to work closely with the countries the workers were travelling to, to ensure decent conditions.
"Participants in the annual International Labour Organisation conference also recognised the need to pay attention to problems faced by employers in GCC countries when recruiting overseas workers."
He said a total of two million unskilled workers would be considered "temporary contractual workers" under an agreement with the International Organisation for Migration. The UAE will receive an official document from the IOM recognising the change of the workers' position from being immigrants to temporary contractual workers, Al Ka'abi said.
"This will allow the country to proceed with rules making the maximum stay for [unskilled] workers six years an initial stay of three years to be renewed only once for a similar period."
Al Ka'abi was speaking following a meeting with Brunson McKinley, Director-General of the Geneva-based organisation.
In his speech at the 95th Conference of the ILO on Monday, Al Ka'abi said foreign workers in the six GCC countries were temporary and not immigrant workers.
"They are hired to temporarily perform specific labour or services. Once this is completed they return to their home countries in accordance with rules of the countries of origin and the destination countries," he said.
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