Abu Dhabi // Labour cards will no longer be issued and will be replaced by electronic work permits starting next year.
The Ministry of Labour said yesterday that the electronic work permit is part of a new project that aims at restructuring labour contracts and labour card procedures.
An average of four million transactions – both the issuing and renewing of labour cards and work permits – are being processed annually by the ministry.
The new move is expected to reduce transactions to half as the procedure for both labour cards and permits will be unified.
The project is in its initial phases but is expected to be implemented in the first quarter of next year.
“We need to discuss with the other stakeholders and hear their opinion and inputs on how this project can be best implemented but our direction is to scrap the labour card as there is no need for it with the existence of identity cards,” said Humaid bin Deemas, the assistant undersecretary at the ministry.
Labour cards have long been regarded as the main tool of identification for workers in the private sector but this changed after identity cards were made mandatory in 2011.
The move is also hoped to reduce the time of issuing work permits by more than 10 days. As per the new procedures, a worker is to be issued the right to work in the UAE within 48 hours, at present it takes about 15 days.
“The main objective of this project is to improve the quality of the services provided by the ministry,” said Mr bin Deemas.
“This new move will save the time and efforts of both companies and workers and, at the same time, help in unifying the procedures at the different government entities.
“We are seeking to develop a one-stop shop for our clients.”
At present, a worker must first apply for a work permit and then a labour card, but with the new procedure there will only be one work permit application, which is processed electronically.
The ministry also requires workers to submit copies of their medical report, passport, their labour contract, their entry permit and the company’s trade licence.
“This will all change. We will only ask for a copy of the labour contract, the rest of the information we have available in the database as we have an electronic link between us and the naturalisation and residency departments in the country,” said Mr bin Deemas.
The medical report will also cease to be a requirement for the ministry to issue a work permit.
Companies will still have to finalise residency procedures at the Ministry of Interior where medical reports are required.
“This medical report is an issue of safety, which we cannot disregard, and no one will be issued a residency without being cleared. But why should we duplicate the work between us and the naturalisation and residency departments? Instead we should complement each other,” said Mr bin Deemas.
The ministry will also redraft the format of the labour contract.
“The current format has been in place for more than 30 years while the country has continued to develop. A new contract which looks at new elements might be desired,” said Mr bin Deemas.
wissa@thenational.ae
The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20S%20Frederick%20Starr%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Oxford%20University%20Press%3Cbr%3EPages%3A%20290%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20January%2024%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills