Captain Willard
Joined: 11 Sep 2010
Posts: 251
|
 Posted: Mon May 28, 2012 3:43 am Post subject: Ministry Completes 5Y Study On Replacing Sponsorship System |
 |
|
Remember that this proposal only took 5 years, and some in the Magic Kingdom still aren�t happy with it. Apparently, this proposal won�t apply to ESL teachers. It appears that someone with wasta has concluded that they can simply corner the market on recruiting foreigners and thus control the labor market. So, the princes will now be the guarantors of the foreigners� human rights.
Doesn�t that just make you full of confidence that life in the Golden Sandbox will now move past the 15th century?
| Galal Fakkar wrote: |
The study proposed the formation of a commission under the Labor Ministry to look into foreign labor issues and put end to the traditional sponsorship system. The commission will be based in Riyadh and will have branches in major cities.
The study advised the government not to hold passports of foreign workers and cancel the condition of obtaining sponsor's approval for a worker to bring his family to the Kingdom.
According to the new system, an employer would not be responsible for the wrong actions of a foreign worker outside his work. "The new system is designed to protect the rights of both foreign workers and employers," the source said.
The study proposed introduction of a mandatory insurance scheme to protect financial rights of foreign workers and employers. The scheme, which may act as an effective tool to end the justification for introducing the sponsorship system, would cover the damages caused by a foreign worker, payment of unpaid salaries and provision of air tickets.
The insurance scheme will also protect employers from possible risks such as robbery, embezzlement, damages, leakage of important business information and damages caused by the worker to others.
The recruitment companies will take necessary measures for recruitment of workers required by individuals and for their journey back to their countries if they wanted so. It will also facilitate transfer of workers from one company to another, the source pointed out.
"The details of the new system would be discussed with various government departments before finalizing it," the source said. "No date has been fixed yet to implement the new system," he added.
Some analysts said the new system would bring only partial solution to the problem as it addresses only a group of foreign workers such as drivers, maids, private nurses and other house servants.
�
Some aspects of the present sponsorship system go against the Shariah and contradict international agreements related to human rights, Al-Sharief said, citing matters such as holding passports of foreign workers by the employer and the difficulty in transfer of sponsorship from one employer to another.
The Council of Ministers issued a decision No. 166 in 1421H calling for organizing the relationship between the foreign worker and employer within the framework of a work contract. It emphasized the need to replace sponsorship and sponsor with work contract and employer in the residency and labor laws. Although the Cabinet adopted the decision eight years ago many government departments still have not yet implemented it. This delay has affected the Kingdom's international reputation and triggered a lot of complaints from foreign workers�
|
http://www.zawya.com/story/Ministry_completes_study_on_replacing_sponsorship_system-ZAWYA20120401031651/
What practical impact, if any this new will have for foreigners remains a mystery. I do know that I needed a new "power of attorney" document to process my recent visa. |
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
