Saudi: 8-year expat cap plan under review

May 26, 2014

expatsJeddah, May 26: The Labor Ministry announced Sunday that it has finalized seven new regulations, including a law that allows expats to transfer their sponsorship onto new employers without the permission of their current sponsors.

Ahmed Al-Humaidan, deputy minister for labor policies, said a working team has been appointed to conduct more studies on the draft law that restricts the stay of expats in the Kingdom in order to propose alternatives and other solutions by the first quarter of the coming Hijri year.

Many companies and employers had objected to the move restricting expats’ period of stay in the Kingdom to a maximum of eight years and discouraging them from bringing their families, saying it would negatively affect their businesses.

The new transfer of service law, which has been published on the ministry’s website (http://www.ma3an.gov.sa), insisted that it is allowed on the basis of certain conditions and should be endorsed by the labor minister.

The law said such transfers are allowed if the worker had a labor dispute with the sponsor and the latter failed to attend the two labor court sessions without any legitimate reason. In addition, judicial authorities should have proof that the sponsor deliberately tried to delay the case and that the worker should not have caused the delay.

An expat can also transfer his sponsor if the previous sponsor did not pay his salary or delayed its payment for three months continuously, provided the worker did not cause the delay.

“The condition stands if the employer was absent and could not carry out his duties because of travel, imprisonment or death, while failing to appoint an agent to take care of his firms and workers,” the law said, explaining other conditions.

Ahmed Al-Humaidan, deputy minister for labor policies, said the ministry has completed discussions on 24 labor regulations with the participation of officials, lawyers and consultants.

“We have presented the draft laws on our website to initiate discussions and allow businessmen, ordinary citizens and expat to give their opinions,” he said, adding that a number of workshops have been conducted for this purpose.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

Dubai, Jul 28: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) (ADCB.AD) is letting go hundreds of employees, sources said, the latest in a round of lay-offs by regional banks as pressure mounts to cut costs amid lower oil prices and the coronavirus crisis.

The UAE’s third-biggest lender is laying off 400 employees, two sources familiar with the matter said, after it had committed to not cutting staff because of the crisis.

In a statement, a spokesman said ADCB had pursued efficiency over the last decade by managing out its lowest underachievers after regular reviews, while ensuring talent was deployed in high-growth areas, such as digital banking.

“A certain number of redundancies are therefore expected every year in the normal course of business,” the bank spokesman added.

The sources said the cuts would involve ADCB’s consumer business and several in top management were among those being let go. One source said the bank was looking to close 20 branches.

In March, ADCB had declared, “No employee will be made redundant during 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

UAE banks have been hit by government measures to rein in the spread of the virus, forcing many businesses to shut temporarily.

Last week, Dubai’s largest bank, Emirates NBD, reported a slump of 58% in profits. In June, sources told Reuters the bank started a new round of hundreds of lay-offs.

In May, ADCB reported a fall of 84% in first-quarter net profit as it took impairments of $292 million on debt exposure to troubled hospital operator NMC Health and payments group Finablr.

It was a major lender, with an exposure of about $981 million, to NMC Health, which went into administration this year after months of turmoil following questions over financial reporting.

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News Network
June 5,2020

New Delhi, Jun 5: As part of global efforts to combat COVID-19, the UAE has provided more than 708 tonnes of medical aid, personal protection kits and supplies to 62 countries, including India, with direct beneficiaries exceeding 708,000 health workers, a UAE Embassy statement said.

The UAE is regarded as the main lifeline for the logistic operations of the international organizations' strategic warehouses in Dubai's International Humanitarian City (IHC) where the UAE is the first responder to the global crises, especially in providing assistance in relation to the current COVID-19 pandemic, it said.

Dubai's IHC has dispatched more than 132 shipments to 98 countries around the world so far since the beginning of this year, and is working as a central hub to distribute the personal protection kits, the statement said.

While the UAE continues its constant work of supporting the global efforts aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 disease, it has provided more than 708 tons of medical aid, personal protection kits and supplies to 62 countries worldwide to date, with direct beneficiaries exceeding 708,000 health workers, it said.

In addition, 65 million indirect beneficiaries profited from the UAE's global efforts in combating the spread of the virus, the statement said.

Meanwhile, Etihad Airways, effective June 10, said it will link 20 cities in Europe, Asia and Australia via Abu Dhabi.

The new transfer services will make it possible for those travelling on the airline's current network of special flights to connect easily through the UAE capital onwards to key global destinations.

Etihad recently launched links from Melbourne and Sydney to London Heathrow, allowing direct transfer connections to and from the UK capital via Abu Dhabi.

Easy transfer connections via Abu Dhabi will now be available from Jakarta, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Melbourne, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo to major cities across Europe including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, London Heathrow, Madrid, Milan, Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Zurich, the airline said.

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News Network
April 29,2020

Dubai, Apr 29: Saudi Arabia reported 1,325 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 21,402, the Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday (April 28).

Meanwhile, the ministry reported 169 recoveries today, with total recoveries in the kingdom at 2,953. There are 125 cases in intensive care.

The ministry also confirmed 5 deaths, bringing the total number of deaths in the kingdom to 157.

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