Undersecretary Dr Khalid Al Khazraji said the ministry will phase out all the committees currently issuing labour permits by the end of this year and a single "e-unit" will be formed. "Under the new system, all transactions will be conducted via the Internet, and it will be applied to all companies in the emirates," he said.
Al Khazraji said the ministry started by offering this service to 250 establishments in Dubai, and the experience proved successful. He added that the e-unit committee will allow the ministry to be part of the e-government initiative in Dubai.
Through the unit, the ministry will assess applications for labour permits from various places in the emirates and a committee will decide whether to accept or reject the applications.
Al Khazraji said that currently there are 10 committees in the country issuing labour permits. Once the unit is in place, there will only be one. Its members will represent all the ministry's departments in the UAE.
"The logic behind the creation of this committee is to reduce the work load and to process transactions more efficiently," he explained.
"We are trying to unify the work and the decisions in all the departments. We are going to create one uniform system for issuing labour permits. We will start applying this service very soon and we will start with Abu Dhabi."
He said the computer network will be ready soon. The e-unit will reduce the number of transactions and will also reduce 70 per cent of the possible errors.
Al Khazraji added that the 3,500 typing service companies all over the country that follow the e-dirham system will be appointed as coordinators between the ministry and the companies that do not have the electronic system.
The fees will be collected through special machines, which will be installed at the typing service companies selected by the ministry and who sell the e-dirham and e-stamp.
"We are the first federal department to apply this e-unit service," he said. "We are planning also to have an electronic link with all the departments, such as the one with Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD)."
The ministry will initially pilot-test the system with 20 establishments. This will be gradually expanded to include 60 establishments, before hitting the target of 250. Within two months, it will be applied across all private companies in the country.
The ministry keeps a large database of the labour market and all the labour establishments in the country.
Issuing labour permits is expected to take one or two days, including the approval of the DNRD and the security transactions, which in the past used to take more than month.
Al Khazraji added that the companies seeking to use the e-unit service must only use the e-dirham and e-stamp. The other companies will deal with the ministry through the typing companies.
Quelle: Gulf News
