Ahmed Kajoor, Assistant Undersecretary of the ministry, said the move is meant to speed processing of permits and curb forgery and trading of them. It is part of the government's ongoing efforts to automate and transfer as much of its day-to-day operation to the Internet in keeping with directives of General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defence Minister, he added.
Kajoor said the system will be secured by six firewalls and will be extremely difficult for hackers to disrupt. "The firewalls have been provided by the Dubai E-Government, Etisalat and the ministry. Each of the providers uses a different system, making hacking all the more difficult.
"The ministry's link with companies is set up through the e-unit and a system has been agreed with the Ministry of Finance and Industry in this regard. The Naturalisation and Residency Department is studying any weaknesses that may hamper the system. We expect the system will be ready by the end of this year.
"As part of the ministry's strategy to improve its services to the private sector companies, and support the economic development efforts, and as we shift to the electronic government, the 'e-unit' was set up to offer fast, integrated, quality services and to implement the newly designed 'e-transaction' concept, in handling and processing various applications.
"The ministry is prepared to offer training to those who want to use the services of the e-unit".
"We listened to reservations from representatives of companies on certain services and activities of the labour sector, and department officials were directed to study them thoroughly and endeavour to eliminate any difficulties faced by the public.
"The new system will save time and effort with representatives of companies processing their transactions through the Internet from their offices.
"This will cut on the time needed to process applications for work permits. Currently, an application for a group of permits may be delayed because one or more documents are incomplete or do not meet requirements. But in the new system will allow an applicant to obtain any permits processed without the need to wait for those which are not completed.
Privacy assured
"An applicant will be asked to enter the company's number, the number of the fees receipt and other details of the permit such as the birth date, nationality and passport number of the worker involved, to maintain privacy and restrict access to applications.
"The system will accommodate 5,000 to 6,000 hits a day. A new website of the ministry will be launched by the ministry to take its message to the public, as well as receive messages in return," Kajoor said.
"Feedback will be one of the key focuses of the revamped site. It will also be equipped with systems allowing companies to process their transactions over the Internet".
The proposed site is especially important to government affairs because of the huge number of expatriate workers in the UAE. Companies will be able to gain information about labour law, as well as decisions and circulars.
Companies would be able to check the progress of applications while interactive facilities would allow them to check the status of staff registered in ministry files. There will also be advice on how to get a transaction finalised by the ministry, the documents needed and the time it takes to complete it.
With the new intelligent form systems installed on a company's desktop, the application forms can be filled. Fees will be paid through e-dirham, the system will automatically stamp the form digitally and the encrypted application can be sent through the integrated e-mail facility in the system which will confirm its receipt with a reference number for follow-up with the ministry.
The application will be processed and replied upon completion. With the new intelligent form systems installed on a company's desktop, the application forms can be filled.
Fees will be paid through the e-dirham card, the system will automatically stamp the form digitally and instead of a hard copy the encrypted application can be sent through the integrated e-mail facility in the system which will confirm its receipt with a reference number for follow-up with the ministry.
The application will be processed and replied upon completion. Should the ministry require additional documents to process their application, it will contact the company promptly and ask for the required documents. Company representatives don't need to come to the ministry any more to do their business.
Quelle: Gulf News
