US embassy cable - 05ABUDHABI3144

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 003144 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE PASS USTR FOR CLATANOFF, ROSENBERG 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, DRL/IL, G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, NEA/RA 
LABOR FOR ILAB, ZOLLNER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, PHUM, ETRD, PREL, TC 
SUBJECT: LABOR: SPONSORSHIP TRANSFER REGULATIONS LOOSENED 
 
REF: ABU DHABI 3074 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: The UAE Cabinet formally approved new 
sponsorship transfer regulations on July 12, 2005 which grant 
the Ministry of Labor's 2.1 million workers more freedom of 
movement in the labor market.  The new laws allow a worker to 
change sponsorship after 1, 2 or 3 years of employment 
(depending on education level), although unskilled workers 
are limited to one change in their lifetimes.  The new law's 
most dramatic improvement is that it allows unskilled workers 
the right to change employers without an automatic six-month 
immigration ban.  This change in sponsorship procedures 
should cut down on illegal employment, as well as provide 
more workplace mobility and rights for workers.  End summary. 
 
2. (U) The UAE Cabinet formally approved a new sponsorship 
transfer system on July 12, 2005 (reftel), which will become 
effective when it is officially published in the Official 
Gazette - likely in a month's time according to Ministry of 
Labor officials.  The Ministry of Labor's 2.1 million workers 
will be able to more freely change jobs (these workers do not 
include government employees or domestic servants, however, 
who are regulated directly by the Ministry of Interior).  The 
new system will allow highly skilled workers (those holding 
graduate or professional degrees) to transfer jobs after one 
year.  Workers holding bachelor's degrees would be allowed to 
change employment after two years, with a maximum of two 
transfers in a lifetime.  Unskilled workers and laborers 
would be permitted to change employment after 3 years 
(allowing the employer more time to benefit from training the 
unskilled laborers), but only once in their lifetime.  Fees 
for changing sponsorship will range from approximately 400 
USD to 800 USD (the highest fees will be charged for 
unskilled laborers to change employers). 
 
3. (SBU) These new procedures will increase the ability of 
unskilled workers and employees holding bachelor's degrees to 
change employment - a drastic change from the current 
sponsorship regulations which require such workers to leave 
the country for a forced 6-month ban on entry if they wish to 
begin working for a new employer.  Ministry of Labor Under 
Secretary Khalid Al Khazraji explained that workers will be 
 
SIPDIS 
able to change employers at will, if they are at the end of a 
contract period.  If they are in the middle of an employment 
contract, however, the sponsorship laws will still require 
the old employer, the new employer, and the employee to agree 
on the change in sponsorship--which in practice means that 
the employee will need to submit a letter of no-objection 
from the old employer before being able to accept new 
employment.  (Note: Under the old sponsorship transfer 
system, unskilled workers could not change sponsorship even 
with a letter of no-objection.  The transfer was limited to 
13 categories of specialized workers such as doctors and 
lawyers, who were required to have a letter of no-objection 
and a minimum of one year's experience at the first location 
of employment to switch sponsorship.  End note). 
 
4. (SBU) The major difference between the new and old 
regulations is that workers will be allowed to change 
sponsorship (although only for a limited number of times in 
their lifetime) at the end of a contract period without being 
forced to leave the country.  Even at the end of a contract 
under the old system, laborers were forced to either stay 
with the employer, illegally work for an employer who was not 
their legal sponsor, or leave the country for an enforced 
six-month immigration ban before reapplying for a new work 
visa.  The new system permitting sponsorship transfer should 
significantly cut down on the number of laborers illegally 
working in the country, as well as enhance employment rights 
for unskilled workers. 
 
5. (SBU)  Many laborers and workers view this change as very 
positive, and the Ministry of Labor was incapacitated the 
first day after the announcement by the sheer flood of people 
calling and visiting the Ministry to inquire about the new 
system.  Although some workers would like to see the removal 
of the no-objection letter required to change employment 
during a contract period, Ministry of Labor Under Secretary 
Khalid Al Khazraji said the UAEG does not intend to remove 
this restriction in the near term.  Although the new system 
will not allow full labor mobility, it is a significant step 
forward for both workers and employers in the UAE. 
SISON