DUBAI, Oct 6 (Bernama) — The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) labour ministers will consider a proposal to define a time frame for foreign workers’ residency in member states at a meeting in Riyadh next month.
The labour ministers’ council will also explore the possibility of enacting a law for domestic helpers and creating a model system for a labour market data base.
United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Labour Minister Dr Ali bin Abdullah Al Ka’abi said the meeting would discuss what was called a “3+3” law which would allow unskilled workforce to stay in the country for three years which can be renewed for a similar term.
“After the expiry of the six-year contract, the workers will go back home to their countries,” Emirates News Agency (WAM) quoted the minister as saying.
He said the ministers would appraise the potential benefits that could be derived from the proposed labour market database.
Al Ka’abi added that the ministry and the National Human Resources Development and Employment Authority had agreed to put the system on trial by the middle of this month.
The minister stressed the importance of labour data in helping decision makers to draw up employment policies and plans.
Comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the GCC has a population of 27 million.
According to reports, about 12 million foreign workers and their families live in the GCC countries.
In the UAE, of its 4.1 million population, about 80 per cent are non-nationals while in Kuwait and Qatar, foreigners constitute a majority.