UAE and Gambia cooperate in managing temporary contracts

The United Arab Emirates and the Republic of the Gambia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, on cooperation to enhance best practices in managing the temporary contracts for Gambian labor in the UAE.

The United Arab Emirates and the Republic of the Gambia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, on cooperation to enhance best practices in managing the temporary contracts for Gambian labor in the UAE.

During a ceremony held recently at the ministry’s premises in Abu Dhabi, the MoU was signed by HE Nasser bin Thani Al Hamli, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, and HE Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, in the presence of senior officials of both sides.

HE Nasser bin Thani Al Hamli said that cooperation between the UAE and the Gambia in recruiting and employing workers in various categories comes within joint efforts to reinforce the existing friendly relations between the two countries and develop their partnership, thus enhancing the mutual development benefits of the temporary contractual work cycle for the Gambian workforce in the UAE. 

Al Hamli added “The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation is seeking to diversify options for the private sector and families in the country to recruit and employ the various workers to meet needs. This is in line with the ministry’s strategy to develop its cooperation with the concerned authorities in the sending countries to facilitate and control recruitment and employment procedures in the UAE.”

For his part, the Gambian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation “praised the level of cooperation between the UAE and Gambia, noting that the labor market in the country is one of the most attractive markets for Gambian labor.”

Under the MoU, it was agreed to recruit business employees according to a mechanism under which the employer provides the Gambian worker to be recruited with a detailed job offer containing a comprehensive description of the rights and duties of each of its parties and terms and conditions of work. The concerned government agency in Gambia which is Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment ensures that the worker signed the offer after reviewing it and agreeing to its content. The offer is attached to the request to issue a work permit submitted by the employer to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. The offer is extracted from the Ministry’s database upon arrival of the worker to the UAE to be signed by the employer and worker and have it officially registered with the ministry as a legal work contract whose conditions conform with the job offer.

If a dispute arises between the employer and the worker, a complaint is registered with the competent department of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, which seeks to find an amicable settlement within a specific period or to refer the complaint to the judicial authorities to resolve the dispute.

Concerning the recruitment and employment of Gambian domestic workers, it was agreed under the agreement signed between the two countries to facilitate procedures for the acceptance and recruitment of domestic workers to the UAE and employ them in accordance with the UAE applicable law of domestic workers and under the legislation and regulations in force in the Republic of The Gambia. This provides the basis to extend legal protection to domestic workers in their countries before they are recruited and when they arrive in the UAE.

It has been agreed that measures will be taken to recruit and hire domestic workers so that only the service centers “Tadbeer” in the UAE will be allowed to offer recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers that have been submitted by employers in the UAE. Only registered and licensed private employment agencies in Gambia will be allowed to provide names and domestic workers data nominated for the vacancies.

It has been also agreed to cooperate to draw up a list of all costs related to the recruitment, employment of domestic workers and its constant update, as well as cooperation to design and provide awareness programs for Gambian labor before and after arrival.

The contracting procedures and the employment of domestic workers are carried out according to a model contract based on the law of domestic service workers. The service centers “Tadbeer” in the UAE shall send the job offer to the candidate worker, including all the terms and work conditions. The parties shall cooperate to ensure the approval of the offer by the worker who signs the model employment contract upon arrival in the country and getting an original copy of it as well as an original copy for the employer.

It was agreed that the termination or expiration of the employment contract shall be under the law and regulations of the law of domestic service workers and in accordance with the terms of the model contract. Additionally, disputes shall be settled based on the law of domestic workers and the terms of the employment contract.