Chaired a working session on regional cooperation in the "Abu Dhabi Dialogue" .. Humaidan reviews Bahrain's experience in protecting the rights of migrant workers

18-10-2019

His Excellency Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan, Minister of Labour and Social Development and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority, chaired a working session on regional cooperation with labour ministers and heads of delegation during the fourth consultative ministerial meeting of Asian labour‑sending and labour‑receiving countries, Abu Dhabi Dialogue 5, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 16–17 October 2019. In his opening remarks, His Excellency stressed the need to pool efforts to ensure the success of the Abu Dhabi Dialogue as a platform for enhanced intergovernmental cooperation and for advancing labour‑mobility management in ways that serve both sending and receiving states, delivering balanced, mutually beneficial outcomes. He noted that such cooperation increases the developmental impact of labour mobility by building human capital and promoting economic growth across participating countries. During the Future of Work session, His Excellency presented the Kingdom of Bahrain’s experience in safeguarding the rights of temporary migrant workers—partners in national development—through advanced, non‑discriminatory legislation that secures equality and justice in labour rights. Key measures include regulated freedom of movement between employers, the application of all provisions of the Labour Law in the private sector to all categories of workers (including trade‑union freedoms, protection from workplace discrimination, and social protection), and access for migrant workers to the unemployment insurance system in cases of involuntary separation. Humaidan highlighted that these progressive steps have placed the Kingdom in the top tier of the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report for the second consecutive year—the only country in the Middle East and North Africa to hold this standing—earned through continuous development of the legal and institutional framework that enhances the work environment and protects workers. Looking ahead, His Excellency expressed the hope that member‑state initiatives showcased within the Abu Dhabi Dialogue will foster wider exchange of successful practices. He called for the Dialogue’s fifth‑session recommendations to include concrete provisions that deepen the sharing of expertise—particularly in workforce protection and the management of temporary contractual work—and that strengthen the harmonisation of occupational skills systems, including facilitation of the issuance and mutual recognition of professional certificates.