Sponsorship Changes? Bahrain Takes the Lead

Cheers to Bahrain , Qatar will never follow , dont have hopes.

They looks only till saudua , not beyond.

Bahrain gettin better day by day, looks like "The Place" for Expats.

Very simple, if the sponsorship system were modified Qatari companies would have to compete with each other for labour, which means they would have improve their management and leadership standards and working conditions. Since most companies here are unable to compete in such a market many would go under.

If everyone were honest (a big if) there wouldn't be a need for exit permits. But people aren't honest.

We've all sen the post asking if banks will pursue outstanding loans.

I don't see a neutral agency

1. Being able to keep tabs on everyone (or find out information on an individual).

2. Being in a position to issue such as emergencey exit permits (as they can in such as QP).

Lets be honest (even if it's only because of bank loans), there is currently a need for exit permits in Doha.

I Read some where that Qatar is also thinking about doing the same as Bahrain did. Qatari King did best for this country thats why he is a beloved person. Im sure he will must favour the non-qatari's also & Qatar follow's Bahrain's footsteps Inshallah

Cheers to Bahrain... good move...

Hopefully Qatar would somehow decide on this issue. Some companies here in Qatar holds their staff as if their is no chance at all it is either take it or leave it. They dont give chance to expats especially for local hired expats.

It will be chaos. I care little about the rights of establishments. But Sponsorship fit very well with the qatars social and economic scene. If sponsorships are dropped there will be rise in frauds and other crimes. Think about it. It can't happen overnight.

There are multiple exit permits and single exit permits.  My understanding is that employers can give the multiple exit permit to their employees and this permit will let them come and go as they please with in a year's time frame where as a single exit permit is granted/denied by the employer right before the employee wishes to leave Qatar.  So if I understand this process correctly, the method is already in place to allow some freedom and flexibility to leave Qatar but I'm not sure how many employers give a multiple exit permit to employees. 

The whole NOC thing to change jobs is another issue. I think a good program would involve the employee staying long enough for the employer to recoup any expenses incurred to bring the employee to Qatar or the employee would reimburse the employer for those expenses before leaving his employ.  There should also be a reasonable amount of time for the employee to give notice so the employer is not stuck without someone.  It is not always easy finding certain people to fill positions in Qatar.  But I am completely against holding someone in a job against their will.  There should always be a way out.

What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness.

~Tolstoy~

Dweller said you may be right, but the exit permit shouldn't be in the hands of the employer, there should be a neutral agency that determines whether obligations of employer and employee have been met.

I agree with the removal of the need for sponsorship and the ability of employees to move from job to job.

However, I can see there being difficulties if the need for exit permits is abolished. How many would we see "doing a runner" whilst having bank loans or moving to a better job in another state without giving due notice?

Some managed to do that even with the need for exit permits. 

I'm trying very hard to get together the necessary funds to open up a services company here in Qatar, but after the announcement by Bahrain, my partner and I are seriously considering opening up there instead.

What I see happening is a drain of human respources away from the other GCC countries, as people head to Bahrain in the knowledge that, provided they meet whatever condiions are imnposed (and I think a 2 year obligation wouldn't be too harsh), they are then free to move to any other company. 

. "You can't tell which way the train went by looking at the tracks"

In most cases the Sponsors are the one who owe the Labourer...

So if anybody has to give a NOC (exit permit) I guess it has to be the other way round & the labourer has to give it to his sponsor!!!

How can the labourer owe the Sponsor? Other than his Labour?

If the sponsor has to pay for the Visa & the Manpower Agency, its exactly because of the sponsorship law.

If they take away the sponsor ship system Bahrain would BOOM.

I cant understand why the citizens want to bottleneck the progress of their country just so as to be in a position as Owner-Slave.

There is so much construction going on. 50 % of the world's cranes and jackhammers, excavators are placed in the Gulf. Yet its so damn difficult in the Gulf to find a good, qualified & exprienced worker , whether engineer, or carpenter, or plumber.

When will there be any ancillary industry? How will it come up? Do they just want to Import cars?

Or will they desire to export a made in Qatar Car?

What about made in Qatar fabric?

What about made in Qatar Paper?

What about made in Qatar Steel?

You will never achieve all these with Sponsorship Laws.

Basically free movement of workers allows for better standards all round...

I think if you have a contract and have served a minimum time eg one year...you should be allowed to move.

What if you have been somewhere for 5 years and their remit has changed from when you first arrived and you are still not allowed an NOC.

Not nice

Dole for jobless expats planned

By SOMAN BABY from New Delhi

EXPATRIATE workers could soon receive unemployment benefits until they find a new job, it emerged yesterday.

This will be for a limited period, which will be defined by the Labour Ministry in co-ordination with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), said Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi.

He was speaking at the end of his four-day official visit to India, where he also announced that Bahrain would abolish its sponsorship system by the end of the year.

Dr Al Alawi said that a proposal to grant unemployment benefits to expatriate workers is being reviewed.

He said that the sponsorship system prevailing in Bahrain was not according to the country's immigration law.

"I believe that allowing the free movement of workers will eventually help to raise the value of human resources. It will also prevent some of the appalling abuses of the so-called free visa system."

Details of the unemployment benefit scheme for expatriates will be announced later.

Dr Al Alawi said he was aware of the objection of the business community to any move aimed at eliminating the sponsorship practice.

"We will take into account their suggestions and try to address their concerns," he noted.

"However, we shall not go back from the decision to allow the free movement of labour in Bahrain.

"Bahrain wants to take the lead in the Gulf in the area of labour market liberalisation."

The minister said that an ILO expert will work with the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) in drafting the best measures to abolish the sponsorship system.

Sponsorship

"Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Economic Development Board chairman Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa is very keen to abolish the practice of sponsorship and liberalise the labour market," said Dr Al Alawi.

"His aim is to allow free movement of labour, irrespective of their nationality, as the government allows free movement of capital and services.

"The abolition of the sponsorship system will fulfill the government objective of preventing the violation of human rights and all types of human trafficking."

Dr Al Alawi said the ILO expert would join the LMRA in June and start work on the project.

"He will advise us on the best ways for transition from the present system to the new one," he added.

"He will meet all concerned parties and everything will be done as per the ILO standards."

Dr Al Alawi said one of the suggestions is to have employment companies, which would be jointly set up by the government and the private sector.

"Such companies will recruit people according to the requirements of employers," he said.

"No employer can hold the passport of an employee unless the employee wants to keep his passport with the employer for security reasons.

"On completion of his contract, the employee is free to move and take up another job in Bahrain."

Dr Al Alawi said that Bahrain was one of the eight countries chosen by ILO for implementing its Decent Work Programme.

"The unemployment benefits and measures taken to protect the health and safety of workers are all part of this programme."

Dr Al Alawi and his delegation left New Delhi for Nepal yesterday afternoon for the last leg of their three-nation tour.

[email protected]

(from Gulf daily news)

Only one problem i can see...They will pay Dole money, but they will start making expats pay tax on their earnings...You dont get anything for free !

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Bahrain is showing the way, but I doubt whether the elder GCC brothers will look that way !

YOU DONT KNOW ME, DONT EVEN TRY !!!

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Good job Bahrain! Will Qatar follow its footsteps?

I really dont have problems if they have certain clause such as completing the minimum contract and a sufficient notice of resignation. The company has the right to recover manpower costs but not to the point of tying up an employee and not giving a chance to change careers.

I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get used to it.  ~Charles Schulz

cheers to bahrain

If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?

about the greedy businessmen mistreating their employees. if employees are looked after well , they wont leave,

what a joke...

YOU DONT KNOW ME, DONT EVEN TRY !!!

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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!

They care for expatriates

YOU DONT KNOW ME, DONT EVEN TRY !!!

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good move