LABOR: SPONSORSHIP TRANSFER REGULATIONS LOOSENED

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 003144

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE PASS USTR FOR CLATANOFF, ROSENBERG
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, DRL/IL, G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, NEA/RA
LABOR FOR ILAB, ZOLLNER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB PHUM ETRD PREL TC
SUBJECT: LABOR: SPONSORSHIP TRANSFER REGULATIONS LOOSENED

REF: ABU DHABI 3074


1. (SBU) Summary: The UAE Cabinet formally approved new
sponsorship transfer regulations on July 12, 2005 which grant
the Ministry of Labor's 2.1 million workers more freedom of
movement in the labor market. The new laws allow a worker to
change sponsorship after 1, 2 or 3 years of employment
(depending on education level),although unskilled workers
are limited to one change in their lifetimes. The new law's
most dramatic improvement is that it allows unskilled workers
the right to change employers without an automatic six-month
immigration ban. This change in sponsorship procedures
should cut down on illegal employment, as well as provide
more workplace mobility and rights for workers. End summary.


2. (U) The UAE Cabinet formally approved a new sponsorship
transfer system on July 12, 2005 (reftel),which will become
effective when it is officially published in the Official
Gazette - likely in a month's time according to Ministry of
Labor officials. The Ministry of Labor's 2.1 million workers
will be able to more freely change jobs (these workers do not
include government employees or domestic servants, however,
who are regulated directly by the Ministry of Interior). The
new system will allow highly skilled workers (those holding
graduate or professional degrees) to transfer jobs after one
year. Workers holding bachelor's degrees would be allowed to
change employment after two years, with a maximum of two
transfers in a lifetime. Unskilled workers and laborers
would be permitted to change employment after 3 years
(allowing the employer more time to benefit from training the
unskilled laborers),but only once in their lifetime. Fees
for changing sponsorship will range from approximately 400
USD to 800 USD (the highest fees will be charged for
unskilled laborers to change employers).


3. (SBU) These new procedures will increase the ability of
unskilled workers and employees holding bachelor's degrees to
change employment - a drastic change from the current
sponsorship regulations which require such workers to leave
the country for a forced 6-month ban on entry if they wish to
begin working for a new employer. Ministry of Labor Under
Secretary Khalid Al Khazraji explained that workers will be

SIPDIS
able to change employers at will, if they are at the end of a
contract period. If they are in the middle of an employment
contract, however, the sponsorship laws will still require
the old employer, the new employer, and the employee to agree
on the change in sponsorship--which in practice means that
the employee will need to submit a letter of no-objection
from the old employer before being able to accept new
employment. (Note: Under the old sponsorship transfer
system, unskilled workers could not change sponsorship even
with a letter of no-objection. The transfer was limited to
13 categories of specialized workers such as doctors and
lawyers, who were required to have a letter of no-objection
and a minimum of one year's experience at the first location
of employment to switch sponsorship. End note).


4. (SBU) The major difference between the new and old
regulations is that workers will be allowed to change
sponsorship (although only for a limited number of times in
their lifetime) at the end of a contract period without being
forced to leave the country. Even at the end of a contract
under the old system, laborers were forced to either stay
with the employer, illegally work for an employer who was not
their legal sponsor, or leave the country for an enforced
six-month immigration ban before reapplying for a new work
visa. The new system permitting sponsorship transfer should
significantly cut down on the number of laborers illegally
working in the country, as well as enhance employment rights
for unskilled workers.


5. (SBU) Many laborers and workers view this change as very
positive, and the Ministry of Labor was incapacitated the
first day after the announcement by the sheer flood of people
calling and visiting the Ministry to inquire about the new
system. Although some workers would like to see the removal
of the no-objection letter required to change employment
during a contract period, Ministry of Labor Under Secretary
Khalid Al Khazraji said the UAEG does not intend to remove
this restriction in the near term. Although the new system
will not allow full labor mobility, it is a significant step
forward for both workers and employers in the UAE.
SISON