Gulf and Asian labour ministers have agreed on a series of initiatives aimed at boosting protection and improving conditions of employment for millions of foreign workers in the Gulf, officials said.

The deal followed two days of talks in Kuwait City between ministers from 12 Asian labour-sending countries and GCC states, which host at least 15 million workers, mostly Asian, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

They welcomed a proposal by the International Labour Organisation to assist in "preventing abuse in the recruitment process, protecting workers' rights, improving regulation and strengthening oversight of private recruitment," in a final statement at the end of the meeting, which was also attended by Labour Minister and Labour Market Regulatory Authority chairman Jameel Humaidan.

The measures include initiatives for wage protection, speedier settlement of labour disputes, a skill development and testing programme and a pre-departure orientation initiative, UAE labour ministry under-secretary for policies and strategy Omar Al Nuaimi said.

The governments in the latest round of the so-called Abu Dhabi Dialogue, launched in 2008, negotiated "in a positive and responsible way for the benefit of workers," he said.

The programme obliges all GCC members to transfer salaries of workers to banks to ensure payment and easy monitoring.

A disputes settlement programme is currently being implemented in Saudi Arabia, Mr Al Nuaimi said. It will be expanded to other GCC states.

Kuwaiti Minister of Social Affairs and Labour Hind Al Sabeeh, however, said the "kafala" sponsorship system was not raised during the conference. The system restricts most workers from moving to a new job before their contracts end unless their employers agree, trapping many workers. - TradeArabia News Service