Dubai: A decision to do away with the sponsorship system will affect the interests of the private sector and alter the demographic structure, business leaders said on Wednesday.
They were responding to a call by Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai Police Chief, who said the sponsorship system should be abolished as it burdens Emiratis with unnecessary responsibilities.
He was speaking on the sidelines of a workshop on the role of labour inspectors.
"Under the sponsorship system, Emiratis have become responsible for each and every detail of their employees' lives. This system has overburdened UAE nationals and made them accountable for their employees' problems and therefore it should be scrapped," said Dahi.
"There will be no security threat to the country if the sponsorship system is abolished and it will not aggravate the demographic imbalance of the UAE," he said.
In May, Bahrain's Labour Minister Majeed Al Alawi said Bahrain would do away with the sponsorship system, making it the first Gulf country to do so.
However, the decision has been staunchly resisted by the business community. Qatar is also studying the option of scrapping the sponsorship system.
Ahmad Saif Belhasa, Chairman of the UAE Contractors Association, said a decision must not be taken in haste and that any change must be studied in detail.
The primary concern with any plan to abolish the system, he said, is the demographic balance of the UAE.
"The percentage of the Emirati population in the UAE is well known. If five to six million people come in without sponsorship, what are the security procedures that will be taken to protect our country?" he asked, adding that the UAE's national interests are "above those of international organisations".
"Sponsors are responsible for all aspects of workers' lives, from the time they enter the country to the time they leave. If these guarantees are not available, what will happen? If people come from here from all over the world and live here, who will be responsible for them? Will the government be responsible?" he asked, adding that it was unlikely that the government would take such a responsibility.
Kamal Riyadh, CEO of Arabtec Holding, said if there are plans to abolish the sponsorship programme, this should be studied carefully before being implemented. He said while there might be positive aspects to abolishment, the private sector could be concerned that such a move would come at its expense.
"Companies invest heavily in recruiting and training workers. If workers have the ability to move to other companies after this then we'd lose our entire investment," he said, suggesting to only extend the freedom to move between jobs for skilled workers.
Tamim speaks up
Dubai Police chief Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim on Wednesday called for the abolishment of labour accommodations.
Dahi said: "I do not understand why workers need to be put into labour accommodations. Instead they should have a fixed salary and have the freedom to choose where they want to live.
"Emirati employers should not be concerned with providing accommodation for workers and get into the details of whether there is soap in the bathrooms or not. It would be easier for everybody to just have a fixed salary ," Dahi said.
There is a lot of opposition from business to this proposal because it is way more profitable to keep the workers in servitude, keeping their passports (=no freedom) than to pay them in a free market where the workers control their own future.
it's been a long time..!!!! they have to get rid of these sponsorship systems