Labour Ministers to discuss workers’ welfare
Labour ministers and senior officials from 22 countries will meet on
Sunday to make recommendations on how to improve the market for
temporary contractual labour, focusing on protection and welfare of
workers.
The Ministerial Consultations on Overseas Employment and Contractual
Labour for Countries of Origin in Asia: The Abu Dhabi Dialogue will take
place from January 20-22 at the Emirates Palace hotel.
“The Abu Dhabi Dialogue will discuss the entire cycle of temporary
contractual labour, beginning and ending with national and human
development,” UAE Labour minister Dr Ali Abdullah Al Ka’abi told Gulf
News. The conference is hosted by the Ministry of Labour (MoL) in
association with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Explaining the importance of the meeting, Al Ka’abi said: “This
year’s meeting is expected to strengthen cooperation between countries
of origin [of labour] and destination, while continuing to provide a
forum for the 11 Asian labour-source countries to share their views in
the field of labour mobility policies, review the implementation of
recommendations of the previous Ministerial consultation in Bali, and
identify further steps for the effective management of labour mobility
and temporary contractual labour for the benefit of all concerned.”
“It is also hoped that the participating delegations will agree to
collaborate on the development of a future multilateral framework that
spells out the rights and obligations of all those who hold a stake in
increasing the benefits of the contractual employment cycle.
Importantly, the meeting will end with the adoption of a
declaration.”
Al Ka’abi stressed that increased cooperation with labour-supplying
nations will be of benefit to all. “We feel it is important to play a
greater role in consultations with other nations, both countries of
labour origin and destination, to make temporary contractual labour
better for all concerned.
We need a comprehensive approach to temporary labour that encompasses
the entire cycle of labour,” he noted.
“The Ministerial Consultation being held in Abu Dhabi is unique
because it is the first to be hosted by a country of destination, at the
request of the UAE, and is intended to launch a sustained dialogue
between the two groups of countries of origin and destination.”
The theme of the meeting is Contractual Labour Mobility in Asia: Key
Partnerships for Development between Countries of Origin and
Destination. The labour-sending countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka,
Thailand and Vietnam.
Participating labour-receiving countries include GCC countries and
Yemen, Japan, Malaysia, Republic of Korea and Singapore. In addition to
these countries, intergovernmental institutions, civil society
institutions and representatives of interested nations will also
participate as observers in the proceedings.
They include the International Labour Organisation, the Arab Labour
Organisation, the European Commission and an array of regional and
international non-government organisations. The Abu Dhabi Declaration,
to be issued at the conclusion of the Ministerial Consultations on
Contractual Labour will be the result of collective efforts of over 200
decision-makers from Asia, the GCC and globally.
“The level of participation indicates the priority given to labour
issues by governments and the desire by many to achieve multilateral
consensus on ways and means to improving the contractual employment
cycle”, said Al Ka’abi. Gulf News |