Expatriate labourers yesterday expressed mixed reactions to the Labour Ministry's decision to allow secondment of workers for temporary jobs with other employers.
Under the system workers who are made temporarily jobless can join other companies from three months to a year.
The government has levied a fee for the secondment, which is Dh1,500 for three months, Dh2,000 for six months, Dh2,500 for nine months and Dh3,000 for a year.
"It will help workers to continue to work and earn a living. I know a case of about 15 workers who were abandoned because their company could not provide work and they were forced to beg," Rashed Mohazzam, a Pakistani worker for a contracting company, said.
Ajit Ramey, an Indian who works for a cleaning company, expressed similar views.
"There are a number of cases where companies can no longer support their workers and thus abandon them. Now at least they can continue working and living without begging from friends."
However, according to some, the system may not work as the workers will be forced to pay the fee.
Noor Alam, a Bangladeshi mason, said: "In most cases, the workers will not be able to pay the fees, thus we will continue to be abandoned."
A Pakistani supervisor of a contracting company, Gulam Haider, had similar reservations.
"The employers will not pay the fee. Also there will be the problem with the end-of-service benefits, as an original employer will say why should they cover these benefits for workers working for others."
Australian Suzan Owens said: "Any system which curbs unnecessary and superfluous recruitment of labour is sensible and prudent."
Mariam Daher, from Lebanon, said the system would encourage more people to work and make them more enthusiastic.
Lawyer Wayne Jones, from the UK, said reforms in the labour market were welcome but it was clear the original employer's consent was still necessary.
