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GCC labour ministers to mull a time-frame for expat workforce

DUBAI — The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ministers of labour will consider a proposal to define a time-frame ceiling for residency of foreign workers in member states.

Meeting next month in Riyadh, the Labour Ministers Council will also explore the possibility of enacting a law for domestic helpers and creating a model system for local market data base.

UAE’s Minister of Labour Dr Ali bin Abdullah Al Ka abi said the meeting would discuss what is called “3‘3 law”, which allows unskilled workforce to stay in the country for three years, which can be renewed for a similar term. After the expiry of the six-year-contract, the worker will go back to his original country, the minister explained. A labour market data base scheme, he said, would also figure high on the agenda. The ministers will appraise the potential benefits the scheme is expected to generate.