Just as Bahrain makes their announcement, the following appears in the same day, but in Qatar's favourite newspaper ....
Businessmen against ‘ending of exit permit’Published: Tuesday, 29 April, 2008, 02:55 AM Doha Time
Staff Reporter
ABOLISHING the exit visa for expatriates in Qatar is one of the points that are currently being debated in many quarters in the context of a proposal to amend the sponsorship law.
Expatriates and investors have been pleading for abolishing the system of exit visa.
The Cabinet has forwarded a draft law to the Advisory Council with some amendments.
In the light of this development, a local Arabic daily has conducted an opinion survey among leading Qatari businessmen to know their reaction to the proposal.
Speaking to the daily, the deputy chairman of Qatar’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Abdul Aziz al-Emady, categorically said that abolition of the exit visa would be an infringement on the rights of sponsors and it was bound to create much confusion and lead to problems. “Who can protect the rights of the Qatari sponsor in the absence of the exit visa because this procedure is in the nature of a ‘no claim certificate’ from the sponsor,” said al-Emady.
To explain his point further he said that if there were 1,000 persons under the employment of a Qatari sponsor and each one was being paid a salary of QR1,200 per month, what would happen if these employees decided to leave the country all of a sudden in a mass exodus in the absence of the exit visa.
The sponsor will lose heavily in terms of money spent on them for recruitment, residence permit, salary and many other items of expenditure, he added.
Abdul Hadi al-Shahawany, a leading Qatari businessman, felt that since the ratio of the number of expatriates vis-a-vis the indigenous population was 10:1 in almost all the GCC countries, and since expatriates had the de-facto control in many business houses abolition of the exit visa system would lead to serious problems. “It could be a dangerous move with many negative consequences,” he said.
According to al-Shahawany, among the negative consequences could be that Qatari businessmen may be compelled to shrink their activities and maintain a stranglehold on the expatriate staff.
Yet another leading Qatari businessman Mohammed bin Tuwar al-Kuwary said that the stipulation on exit visa ensured the rights of both the sponsor and the employee and should not be seen as a violation of human rights.
It is also relevant to note that the system is being maintained in all the GCC countries and there is no move to abolish it, says the report.
Of course they don't want it to be abolished, that would mean that companies would have to become competitive in a true capitalist market ... heaven forbid!
Just as Bahrain makes their announcement, the following appears in the same day, but in Qatar's favourite newspaper ....
Businessmen against ‘ending of exit permit’Published: Tuesday, 29 April, 2008, 02:55 AM Doha Time
Staff Reporter
ABOLISHING the exit visa for expatriates in Qatar is one of the points that are currently being debated in many quarters in the context of a proposal to amend the sponsorship law.
Expatriates and investors have been pleading for abolishing the system of exit visa.
The Cabinet has forwarded a draft law to the Advisory Council with some amendments.
In the light of this development, a local Arabic daily has conducted an opinion survey among leading Qatari businessmen to know their reaction to the proposal.
Speaking to the daily, the deputy chairman of Qatar’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Abdul Aziz al-Emady, categorically said that abolition of the exit visa would be an infringement on the rights of sponsors and it was bound to create much confusion and lead to problems. “Who can protect the rights of the Qatari sponsor in the absence of the exit visa because this procedure is in the nature of a ‘no claim certificate’ from the sponsor,” said al-Emady.
To explain his point further he said that if there were 1,000 persons under the employment of a Qatari sponsor and each one was being paid a salary of QR1,200 per month, what would happen if these employees decided to leave the country all of a sudden in a mass exodus in the absence of the exit visa.
The sponsor will lose heavily in terms of money spent on them for recruitment, residence permit, salary and many other items of expenditure, he added.
Abdul Hadi al-Shahawany, a leading Qatari businessman, felt that since the ratio of the number of expatriates vis-a-vis the indigenous population was 10:1 in almost all the GCC countries, and since expatriates had the de-facto control in many business houses abolition of the exit visa system would lead to serious problems. “It could be a dangerous move with many negative consequences,” he said.
According to al-Shahawany, among the negative consequences could be that Qatari businessmen may be compelled to shrink their activities and maintain a stranglehold on the expatriate staff.
Yet another leading Qatari businessman Mohammed bin Tuwar al-Kuwary said that the stipulation on exit visa ensured the rights of both the sponsor and the employee and should not be seen as a violation of human rights.
It is also relevant to note that the system is being maintained in all the GCC countries and there is no move to abolish it, says the report.
Gulf Times Newspaper, 2008 ©
Of course they don't want it to be abolished, that would mean that companies would have to become competitive in a true capitalist market ... heaven forbid!