New law to abolish sponsor system, says Al-Gosaibi

P.K. Abdul Ghafour | Arab News

JEDDAH: A new law abolishing the sponsorship system and streamlining the relationship between employers and their workers will be issued “very soon,” Al-Madinah daily reported yesterday quoting a Shoura Council member.
The Shoura member, who requested anonymity, however, pointed out that the new law to be passed by higher authorities would be based on the proposals of the Labor Ministry and not of the National Society of Human Rights (NSHR).
“Labor Minister Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi told a Shoura session that his ministry had presented its viewpoints regarding cancelation of the sponsorship rules and that the law would be issued very soon,” the Shoura member said.
In a close-door session of the 150-member Shoura, Al-Gosaibi disclosed his ministry’s plan to establish specialized companies to organize foreign work force and supervise the signing of contracts between employers and workers.
NSHR President Bandar Al-Hajjar said last week that the rights watchdog had presented to authorities a proposal to establish a government commission to look after guest workers. He also called for the abolition of the sponsorship system. “There was no coordination between NSHR and the Labor Ministry or any other party on preparing a study on cancellation of the sponsorship system,” Al-Hajjar said while commenting on the Shoura member’s statement.
The Labor Ministry is the legitimate agency to organize the affairs of foreign workers, he added.
Al-Hajjar said he had no information whether the Labor Ministry had prepared a similar study on the subject or not. The NSHR held last year a seminar on the rights of Saudi employers and foreign workers in the light of the sponsorship system, he said. Officials from the Ministries of Interior and Labor attended the seminar.
“We heard the viewpoints of the two ministries as well as the views of the chambers of commerce and recruitment companies on the topic,” the NSHR chief said, adding that there were differences of opinion. “The NSHR study was based on our viewpoint,” he explained.
Saudis and expatriates have welcomed the plan to abolish the sponsorship system saying that it would give more freedom to guest workers and attract foreign investment. Yasin Alireza, a Saudi businessman, said the new system should be simple and provide greater freedom to guest workers in matters related to travel and switching jobs.
“We all look forward to a big change in the sponsorship system. We all know it has been abused and how the rights of many non-Saudis have been seriously and continuously violated,” said American Edward Flood.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more