<p>UAE Labour Minister Saqr Ghobash Saeed Ghobash has supported the sponsorship system, saying that he has not seen a country which did not have a sponsorship system for foreign workers.<br /><br />"I don't support the idea of abolishing the system (of sponsorship). What we need to look at are amendments to practices (surrounding it)," Gobash said.<br /><br />Under the sponsorship rule, foreigners need the approval of their local sponsors to enter, work in the country or switch jobs.<br /><br />Kuwait and Bahrain recently scrapped the traditional sponsorship system.<br />Gobash said the government is open to improve the system and change policies to boost the local economy.<br /><br />Meanwhile, a recent study has revealed that hosting 4 million foreign workers costs the UAE about 50 billion dirhams per annum.<br /><br />Despite these costs, hiring foreign workers is an economic advantage to private companies and the UAE economy when compared to the workers' productivity levels, the study said.<br />"We looked around and found that no country in the world has no sponsorship for foreign citizens on its territories. The UAE is one of the countries that (applies) a sponsorship system," Gobash said on Tuesday.<br /><br />He said that his ministry has been trying to improve the sponsorship system and will continue to do so whenever it sees benefits from modifying the rules.</p>
<p>UAE Labour Minister Saqr Ghobash Saeed Ghobash has supported the sponsorship system, saying that he has not seen a country which did not have a sponsorship system for foreign workers.<br /><br />"I don't support the idea of abolishing the system (of sponsorship). What we need to look at are amendments to practices (surrounding it)," Gobash said.<br /><br />Under the sponsorship rule, foreigners need the approval of their local sponsors to enter, work in the country or switch jobs.<br /><br />Kuwait and Bahrain recently scrapped the traditional sponsorship system.<br />Gobash said the government is open to improve the system and change policies to boost the local economy.<br /><br />Meanwhile, a recent study has revealed that hosting 4 million foreign workers costs the UAE about 50 billion dirhams per annum.<br /><br />Despite these costs, hiring foreign workers is an economic advantage to private companies and the UAE economy when compared to the workers' productivity levels, the study said.<br />"We looked around and found that no country in the world has no sponsorship for foreign citizens on its territories. The UAE is one of the countries that (applies) a sponsorship system," Gobash said on Tuesday.<br /><br />He said that his ministry has been trying to improve the sponsorship system and will continue to do so whenever it sees benefits from modifying the rules.</p>