The Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) is preparing a series of steps to provide protection to workers and preserve their rights, especially those under government contracts, Al Qabas reported, quoting a reliable source in the authority. The new stricter regulations aim to control the labor market, reduce marginal labor, and stop those who are profiting from the residency visa trade through fake companies and selling visas.
The source added that PAM will issue a decision in the coming days to allow the transfer of workers registered on any government contract to another in the same business, after the end of the original contract on which the workers were recruited for the first time without the consent of the sponsor.
The source indicated that the transfer will be done by transferring the workers to a contract under a new tender if they wish to do so, once the contract expires.
The owner of the first contract is required to provide proof of his ownership of a government contract for the transfer of the worker to prove the job was legitimate and not fake, and if this is not proven, the worker is transferred to another company that has a government contract.
It will be obligatory for workers under government contracts to leave the country after the end of the period of their first contract, in the event that they are not transferred to another company based on the same contract under which they work, or in the event that their employer does not obtain a new contract, to which they can be transferred to.
Companies with violations registered against them are penalized for breaching workers’ rights by denying them access to new government tenders.
Five actions on the labor market
1 – Tightening penalties for any company that delay salaries.
2 – New controls to prevent marginal workers.
3 – Providing protection for workers in coordination with the concerned authorities
4 – A new move to reduce residency visa trading and fake company files.