New Labor Law in United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi:  The new labor law that will come into effect on January 1, 2011 is to lessen the control of employers over employees and liberalize the labor market, a top government official told.

This clarified that the new law completely scraps the "no objection certificate" (NOC). The NOC requires before an employee can transfer his/her job in to a new employer as the current labor law stated.

The Labour Ministry would have the authority to allow workers to take up new jobs without the consent of former employers or the so-called NOC.

"Workers, skilled and unskilled, who end their job contracts legally and complete at least two years of service, will get a labour permit outright,".

Previously, these workers had to complete at least three years of service with their previous employers and had to obtain an NOC letter.

Professional and skilled workers in the first three categories according to the Uniform Gulf Occupational Classification would also be exempt from the six-month ban.

image source: google images

The government official added that the goal behind the ministry's new law was to bring the labour market's level on a par with that of Germany, Canada, the US and other Western countries, as well as cancelling the employers' monopoly of the labour market.

The new rules defined three cases in which the worker shall have the right to get a work permit without fulfilling the condition of working at least two years with the employer.

source: gulfnews