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The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has announced the initiation of programme to support and develop the labour market governance mechanisms under the technical cooperation between the ministry and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

This came at a ceremony held today at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Abu Dhabi to announce the launch of "Innovations in Labour Market Governance" programme, in the presence of Saqr Ghobash, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation and Dr. Ruba Jaradat, ILO Regional Director for Arab States at the ILO, and a number of officials from both sides.

Ghobash said the programme, which consists of three axes, will be implemented concurrently over two years. He added that the programme includes the development of information system, statistics of labour market, development of systems and policies of labour inspection, occupational safety and health as well as the development of mechanisms to anticipate and settle individual labour disputes.

The UAE minister said the programme meets the requirements of the UAE national agenda and vision 2021, adding that the ministry is keen to boost innovation with a view to streamline the labour market and increase its productivity. "The UAE labour market is strong, and improving of the labour market governance is extremely important," said Ghobash.

Kinan Bahnassi, chief technical adviser of the programme, said that the ministry’s inspection team will start working closely with the ILO to implement new ways of inspecting work areas that take into account ILO’s standards. He highlighted that the minister has been very welcoming to ILO’s ideas and recommendations.

"This new project will equip the ministry with modern and state-of-the-art tools to govern the labour market, show the ministry’s leadership role in ensuring decent work and set an example for other countries in the region to follow," said Dr. Ruba Jaradat, ILO Regional Director for Arab States.

"It is very important to stress here that such collaboration between the UAE and the ILO is a first of its kind in the GCC region and that other countries in the region have expressed interest in following suit," she added.