Faced with the prospect of foreign workers, majority of whom are from India, dominating the national workforce, the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council will consider a proposal to define a time-frame ceiling for residency of the workers in member states.
The proposal says after the expiry of the six year-contract, the worker will go back home to his original country. GCC comprises the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait. They rely heavily on foreign workers, the majority being Indians.
Meeting next month in Riyadh, the GCC labour ministers' council will also explore the possibility of enacting a law for domestic helpers and creating a model system for local market data base.
The meeting will discuss what is called (3+3 law) which allows unskilled workforce to stay in the country for three years which can be renewed for a similar term, UAE Minister of Labour Dr. Ali bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi was quoted as saying by the Emirates news agency tonight.
"After the expiry of the six year-contract, the worker will go back home to his original country," the minister told the Emirates news agency. But facing with barrage of criticism over a proposal to impose a six-year residency cap on expats, Bahrain's Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi has said the plan would be confined to semi-skilled employees and labourers. If implemented, the plan would impact the large Indian community in Bahrain.
The proposal would affect about 80 per cent of the expatriates in the state and would offer locals more employment opportunities, the minister said.
New rights are on the way for expatriates in Bahrain and the Gulf as the region signs up to international treaties, it has been revealed. Expatriate workers and their families will be entitled to housing, education and health services, under global conventions, he adds.
They could also be entitled to nationality after five years' residency, under international labour treaties Bahrain and its neighbours will eventually have to sign, he said.
