Gulf countries to target rogue labour agencies

The need to clamp down on rogue UAE and Asian labour recruiters and employers has been highlighted at the ongoing Colombo Process conference in Abu Dhabi.

Jean-Philippe Chauzy, head of media and public information at the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), told ArabianBusiness.com that illegal and unethical recruitment processes were discussed several times during the dialogue on Monday.

"There is an urgent need to clamp down on rogue recruiters or rogue employers who are abusing the naivety of the contractual workers."

"Both the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Asian countries expressed concern and said there was a clear agreement that there are flaws in both the recruitment process of the country of origin as well as in the processes of the destination countries."

Chauzy added that it is hard to regulate and protect contractual workers without solid data to monitor the workers.

Monday's dialogue included a discussion of the formation of a database of mobility trends to give the countries an accurate picture of their workers location and status, he said.

"These workers are very vulnerable, and they need to have their rights promoted. They need to be able to travel legally, have a status and a contract to protect them."

Chauzy said the GCC had initiated the dialogue with the Asian nations. Labour ministers from 22 Asian and Middle Eastern countries are attending the Colombo Process conference, alongside migrant advocate group IOM. The ministerial consultation will conclude with the announcement of a joint declaration.

The labour-sending countries include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The countries of destination include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Yemen, as well as Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore.