CAIRO: Egypt`s Minister of Manpower and Immigration, Aisha Abdel Hady issued a resolution to stop dealing with 33 companies and establishments in three Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates due to what she described as “deliberate insults and offense” against Egyptian workers in the countries. She added that due to violations that are reportedly perpetuated against Egyptian workers in Saudi Arabia and incidents of Egyptian doctors sentenced to more than a 100 lashes last year, she has declared the Gulf off-limits for many Egyptians. The resolution comes after debate in Parliament over Egyptian workers' treatment abroad and attacks by MPs against the ministry when she declared the employing of Egyptian female cleaners in schools in Kuwait recently. The move to send Egyptian workers to Kuwait was widely criticized by Parliament, who said Abdel Hady should do more for Egyptians living and working abroad. The minister said that among the companies and facilities that the ministry would stop its cooperation with are 8 Saudi medical centers, especially the clinic where one doctor was attacked this fall. The minister said in the statement published on Sunday, that she decided not to provide these facilities with its needs of Egyptian workers, currently or in the future, due to the multiple and repeated complaints from Egyptians of “abuse and lack of cooperation by officials with offices of the Ministry of Labor of Saudi Arabia.” Sources at the ministry said that the ban on relations with medical centers in Saudi Arabia comes within the framework to follow-up on facilities that mistreat Egyptian workers there, especially after the incident of lashing Egyptian doctors in the Gulf kingdom and their detention last year. The ministry's prohibition is for 26 facilities, including 3 Saudi hospitals, including Al-Salam Hospital in Jeddah, in which the crisis of Egyptian doctors took place. The statement pointed out that the ban will be applied to new contracts only, while old contracts between these institutions and the Egyptians will be maintained and endorsed until their expiration date, “especially as the ministry may not terminate the contract without the consent of both parties.” Abdel Hady called on Egyptian workers wishing to travel abroad not to sign any contracts with these facilities, asserting that the officials of the Ministry of Manpower “will not ratify it,” which means it will be void for lack of a formal government approval. She noted that she had informed all concerned authorities in Egypt, including the Work Permit Department and the Chamber of Companies, the Employment of Egyptians Abroad and the Federation of Chambers of Commerce with a list of all companies that the Egyptian government will not deal with, emphasizing that “the main objective of the prohibition on dealings with these companies is to preserve the rights of Egyptian workers and to avoid more problems in the future in case of hiring them.” **reporting by Mohamed Abdel Salam BM
