Dr. Gargash, Minister for FNC Affairs, meets with EU Parliament delegation and discusses Labor sector in UAE

The delegation of MEPs was led by Lilli Gruber, Gulf Delegation Chairwoman and a member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and was also accompanied by H.E. Bernard Savage, EC Ambassador to the UAE and Head of the Delegation of the European Commission in Saudi Arabia.

A number of topics were discussed with Dr. Gargash. The delegation was interested in learning more about how questions pertinent to the labour sector were being addressed in the UAE. Dr. Gargash outlined the government's proactive and aggressive strategy to address the challenges of a large expatriate labour force and development of labour sector strategy and infrastructure.

Dr. Gargash stated, "The UAE is growing exponentially both in terms of a striving economy and an expanding population. We have made great progress in development and implementation of legislation to protect the labour force and in working at every level of government and the private sector to continue evolving a UAE framework that can be a model for the region and elsewhere."

Dr. Gargash also outlined a number of Cabinet Directives and Ministry of Labour actions in key areas such as wage protection, sponsorship transfers, labour dispute settlement, inspection visits, working conditions and workers' accommodation.

"In 2006, 27,000 labour dispute cases were processed, 85% of which were successfully arbitrated by the courts. While the UAE acknowledges that there remains much to be done, these initiatives demonstrate that the UAE is fully engaged in providing a robust infrastructure for the labour sector that guarantees labour rights," he continued.

Minister Gargash also outlined to the delegation the UAE's plan with regards to enabling the Federal National Council. He detailed the President's initiative of December 2005 and provided an overview of the recent elections to the FNC. He added that "although this is a first step, it is nonetheless and important step in modernizing our representative institutions and widening the avenues of political participation in this country"

The European Parliament delegation commented on the UAE's impressive accomplishments that they witnessed during their trip and noted that the country's first held national elections was a positive move for a country that has already succeeded in building a robust economy and infrastructure.

"We thank the delegation for their visit, productive exchange of views, and constructive discussion" commented Dr. Gargash "and look forward to an even stronger UAE-EU relationship."

The EP delegation also included Patrick Louis, French MEP and Member of the Gulf Delegation, Eugen Mihaescu, Romanian MEP and Member of the EU Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Jean -Louis Berton, Head of the Secretariat of interparliamentary delegation to non-European countries. The MEP Gulf delegation's trip also included visits to Bahrain and Qatar.