The UAE Permanent Committee on Human Rights (PCHR), in collaboration with the Ministry of Human Resource and Emiratisation (MoHRE), organised a session titled “Strengthening Partnerships to Support Temporary Migrant Workers’ Rights and Gender Balance Policies” on the sideline of the 14th summit of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) in Geneva, Switzerland.

The session showcased the UAE’s policies and programmes to protect workers’ rights, which enhance the country’s position as a leading hub attracting international talent and its status as an ideal destination for living and working. It sought to shed light on various experiences and policies to protect workers and promote gender equality in the labour market.

Ambassador Jamal Al Musharakh, Permanent Representative of the UAE to the United Nations and Other International Organisations in Geneva, opened the event, where he stressed the important role that social dialogue among various stakeholders plays in developing comprehensive and just policies that protect human rights and dignity.

Shayma Al Awadhi, Assistant Undersecretary for Communication and International Relations at MoHRE, said, “The UAE has taken a range of measures to enhance the attractiveness of its labour market, consolidate workers’ wellbeing, and ensure social stability. The country operates within a clear strategy to attract and retain talent by establishing a pioneering legislative ecosystem for the labour market, in line with the UAE’s social and humanitarian strategic directions and its ethical commitment to international business standards.”

Al Awadhi stated that the UAE is moving forward with a holistic vision and ambitious goals to drive economic development, strengthen sustainable and knowledge-based economies, and attract the best skills to our labour market.

To that end, the UAE has established a comprehensive system of protections for workers and a robust rule-of-law environment. The most notable protections include the Unemployment Insurance Scheme, which provides temporary income for workers for three months after loss of employment.

She added that there is the optional alternative system for end-of-service benefits, known as the ‘Savings Scheme’, which yields investment returns for workers by investing their end-of-service benefits while they are still employed, alongside the Workers Protection Programme and Wage Protection System, which has been expanded to cover specific categories of domestic workers.

Al Awadhi has also showcased the occupational health and safety system implemented in the UAE labour market and its role in providing a suitable, risk-free work environment for workers, going on to empahsise that the UAE views women as a fundamental pillar for achieving economic prosperity for nations, “which is witnessed in country’s labour laws that support and empower working women to compete in the workplace.”

Participants at the session included Ambassador Dr. Wael Badawi, Egypt’s Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for Migration, Refugees, and Combating Human Trafficking; Febrian A. Ruddyard, Indonesia’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva representing the Bali Process, Maria Theresa Dizon-de Vega, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Philippines to the Republic of Korea; Molly Miller Groom, Director, representing the Intergovernmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum and Refugees Secretariat, and Ellene Sana, Executive Director of the Centre for Migrant Advocacy.

The session brought together a sizeable audience from international organisations operating in the fields of labour and workers’ rights.