By NNN-KUNA
Cairo : Arab ministers in charge of immigration have urged the Arab Labour Organisation (ALO) to set up a special task force committee to look after the interests of Arab workers at their places of work abroad.
At the end of their meeting here held at the Arab League headquarters Tuesday, the ministers recommended that the ALO establish a centre to train Arab workers seeking to work abroad, in particular in Western countries. The training would prepare them both professionally and psychologically to work successfully in a foreign environment, the ministers said.
The ministers, on the other hand, espoused the notion of absorbing returnees from the West back into Arab workplaces, with the emphasis on affording them the same work opportunities that they had abroad and perhaps excelled in.
They urged Arab countries to engender convenient avenues whereby immigrant Arab workers abroad could safely and surely send their remittances back home to their families.
The ministers called on states receiving Arab immigrant workers not to make it hard for them to enter their job markets and for those European states that had not signed international agreements on the protection of migrant workers to do so expeditiously.
They also behoved all Arab organisations that deal in immigrant affairs to do their utmost in curbing illegal immigration of Arab workers to Europe and elsewhere. They recommended that young Arabs seeking employment abroad be made aware of the pitfalls and risks of immigrating abroad to foreign environments without being fully prepared for such an adventure.
The ministers underlined the need for concerted Arab endeavour in negotiating with foreign countries regarding protection of the rights of Arab immigrant workers in these countries.