The United Arab Emirates has eased its tough rules for foreign workers who want to change employer, loosening the controversial "sponsor" system in force in the Arab states of the Gulf. "An employee with an expired contract can obtain a new work permit and shift to another employer" without having to wait six months and have his sponsor's consent, the labour ministry said.
The new regulation takes effect in January and will "replace the current formalities of transfer of sponsorship for expatriate workers," it said in a statement carried by the Emirati state news agency WAM. It said the measure applies only if the two parties in a labour contract have "ended their work relationship cordially" and the employee has "worked with his employer for at least two years."
However, if the employer "fails to honour his legal or contractual obligations" or if the contract is proven to have been prematurely terminated" by the employer, the worker will have the right to change jobs. The sponsorship system practised in the Gulf's oil-rich Arab states which employ millions of foreigners, mostly Asians, has been heavily criticised by human rights organisations, which liken it to modern-day slavery.
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