Al Hamli: “Our aim is to fulfil the needs of the private sector and families for competent workers”

The UAE has signed bilateral memorandum of understandings (MOUs) the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Socialist Republic of Vietnam in order to strengthen bilateral cooperation and apply the best practice in the recruitment and employment of Nepali and Pakistani workforce, including the domestic labour, in addition to the Vietnamese domestic workers by the UAE employers and families.

The UAE has signed bilateral memorandum of understandings (MOUs) the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Socialist Republic of Vietnam in order to strengthen bilateral cooperation and apply the best practice in the recruitment and employment of Nepali and Pakistani workforce, including the domestic labour, in addition to the Vietnamese domestic workers by the UAE employers and families.

The three MOUs were signed separately by Nasser bin Thani Al Hamli, the UAE Minister of the Human resources and Emiratisation, Dao Ngoc Dung, Vietnamese Minister of Labour; Invalids and Social Affairs, Gokarna Bista, Nepali Minister of Labour; Employment and Social Security, and Tahir Hussain Andrabi, Acting Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, on the margins of the 108^th session of the International Labour Conference (ILO), currently held in Geneva, Switzerland, with the participation of the delegation of the State.

“Signing the MOUs comes out of the UAE's keenness on developing its bilateral cooperation with the three countries in the area of labour recruitment and employment to meet the needs of the private sector, employers and families in the UAE for company and domestic workers, in a way that promotes the mutual developmental benefits realised by the temporary contractual labour session,” said Al Hamli.

He noted the importance of the MOUs, as they control and regulate the recruitments of labour, particularly through the licensed recruitment agencies in the UAE as well as the three countries. The MOUs also promote transparency in different phases of the labour cycle, and assure the rights and entitlements of the various concerned parties, especially in the light of the agreement to conduct awareness-raising programmes before the workers leave their own countries and after they arrive in the UAE, which contributes to raising their awareness of the rights and obligations imposed by the contractual labour relationship.

The signing ceremony was attended by Obaid Salem Al Zaabi, UAE Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Saif Ahmed Al-Suwaidi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation for Human Resources Affairs; Maher Hamad Al-Obaid, Deputy Under-Secretary for Inspection Affairs; Dr. Omar Al Nuaimi, Assistant Under-Secretary for International Relations, and Communication; and a number of officials from the three countries.

Concerning the recruitment of company workers, it has been agreed that an employer would offer the worker that would be recruited a detailed job offer, containing a comprehensive description of the rights and obligations of each party thereof, as well as the terms and conditions of the job. Thus, a concerned governmental body in a foreign country could ensure that the offer has been signed by the worker after reading and approving its contents. The offer will be accompanied by a request for a work permit submitted by the employer to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE), and the offer will be retrieved from the Ministry database upon the arrival of the worker in the UAE, in preparation for signing it by the employee and the worker. Then, it will be officially registered in the Ministry as a legal labour contract, whose terms comply with the offer.

In case of a dispute between an employer and a worker, a complaint is registered at the concerned department in MOHRE, which seeks to resolve the issue amicably within a particular period of time or refer the complaint to the legal authorities to make a decision, in case no amicable settlement between the two parties could be reached.

As to the recruitment and employment of domestic workers, an agreement has been made to facilitate the procedures of accepting and recruiting domestic workers in the UAE, and employ them in accordance with the provisions of the Domestic Workers Law applicable in the UAE and according to the legislations and regulations applicable in their own countries in respect with the movement and employment of workers to work overseas. This is the basis for extending the scope of legal protection of domestic workers in their own countries before their recruitment and upon their arrival in the UAE.

Measures were agreed upon to recruit and employ domestic workers, such that only Tadbeer service centres will be allowed to submit requests of domestic labour recruitment made by UAE employers to employ domestic workers. Private recruitment agencies in the origin countries are also allowed to provide names and data of the domestic workers recommended for the available, approved vacancies.

Another agreement has been made as to making a list of all the costs related to recruiting and employing domestic workers, and updating the list continuously, in addition to working together for designing and introducing awareness-raising programmes for the labour before leaving and after arrival.

Procedures for contracting and employing domestic workers are made in conformity with a model contract based on the Domestic Labour Law. Tadbeer service centres will send a job offer to the recommended worker, with all the terms and conditions of the job, and both parties will work together to ensure that the worker, who will sign the model labour contract upon his/her arrival in the UAE, approves the offer and has an original copy of it as well as another for the employer.

It has also been agreed that the expiration or termination of a labour contract shall be made in accordance with the regulations of the Domestic Labour Law and the model contract, and that disputes will be settled based on the provisions of the Domestic Labour Law and the terms of the labour contract.

Bilateral joint committees are to be formed between MOHRE and the concerned ministries in Pakistan, Nepal and Vietnam to take the necessary measures to implement and monitor the operationalisation of the concluded MOUs.