"Reforming labour market and migration regulation in Gulf states", 17 Jun 2022

Labour markets in these states are distinctive, with these foreign workers subject to vastly different conditions and wages compared to citizens of the countries. A key underlying driver of the differences are restrictive sponsorship systems which constrain their labour mobility.

I have investigated how the gap in labour costs and rights between nationals and foreigners could be closed, with a view to both increasing private sector citizen employment and improving the labour conditions and productivity of foreign workers.

From my research, I developed recommendations for improving worker mobility rights, including abolishing the sponsorship system, introducing shorter “lock-in” periods in employment contracts, and introducing a “buy-out” option whereby prospective new employers may reimburse current employers should they wish to recruit workers before the end of this lock-in period...

More broadly, my research has made an economic and intellectual case that the sponsorship system has too many negative consequences to continue in its current form.

...I was...commissioned by UAE’s Ministry of Labour to produce a policy paper on the options for sponsorship reform across the GCC region, which informed legislation enacted in the UAE in 2016. This allowed lower-skilled workers to switch jobs with the agreement of their employer after six months and allowed higher-skilled workers to switch jobs without employer agreement.