Labor Minister Adel bin Mohammed Faqih, who is also the current Chairman of the Council of Labor Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Member States, addressed today the 101st Session of the International Labor Conference which is currently held in Geneva. Faqih said that the GCC countries have made distinct steps in developing the labor market at legislative level, adding that the pace of ratifying basic labor agreements doubled during the last decade and several initiatives and actions were taken to develop the labor market and protect workers' rights. "Abu Dhabi Dialogue which was launched in 2008 resulted in establishing the principle of cooperation among sender and recipient countries. One form of such cooperation is an initiative which will be launched soon between the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of India that aims at checking contracts electronically with the aim to enhance transparency in contractual procedures and allow workers to know contract conditions before traveling abroad," Faqih said. At the level of organizing the labor market and providing social protection, he said that the Kingdom of Bahrain has achieved many steps, notably maintaining unemployment rates in the range of 4% and introducing the unemployment insurance law. He also said that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has launched a range of initiatives and programs that aim at providing more job opportunities for Saudis. It also launched a new program that aims at increasing women's contribution to production processes. --More
