Police chief calls for end of sponsorship in UAE

Dubai's police chief has called for the abolition of the sponsorship system in a similar move being implemented in Bahrain, it was reported on Wednesday.

Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim said the current sponsorship system was a “burden” on the UAE’s economy and Emiratis and added that there was "talk" among government officials regarding the issue.

"Employment contracts should be between companies and employees," said Lt Gen Tamim told the website of UAE daily The National on the sidelines of a police workshop in Dubai.

"They [employees] should be responsible for their own actions, paper work and medical check ups,” he told the paper.

When asked if the government was currently considering abolishing the system, he said: “I am not quite sure if that's something they are considering, but there is talk.”

He claimed Emiratis would be better off if they didn’t have to be sponsors and added that he had been lobbying for the sponsorship system to be scrapped since 2002.

Bahrain said last month it would scrap its existing sponsorship system for foreign workers in the hope of reducing its need for expatriate labour, a first in a region often criticised by rights groups over the issue.

"We're working on identifying a ceiling on expatriate workers in Bahrain," said Labour Minister Majeed al-Alawi in a statement published by Bahrain's official news agency.

Under the new regulations, foreign workers will be directly sponsored by the LMRA and therefore able to move jobs without the consent of their previous employer.

The changes will be effective from August.

Last week, the director general of the General Secretariat for Development Planning (GSDP) in Qatar said the sponsorship law was not providing enough incentives for nationals to find employment.

Sheikh Hamad bin Jaber Al Thani, told a labour market strategy forum that the current system was hindering the nation’s development.

He said the current sponsorship law system meant employers tended to recruit foreigners with sub-standard skills on lower salaries.

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