The Qatari Minister of Labour Dr Ali bin Saeed bin Smaikh Al-Marri has said that Qatar adopted many legislative and administrative reforms that stem from and are in line with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) guidelines, as part of their agreement of partnership in 2017.
Al-Marri stressed that Qatar has adopted many reforms in order to achieve the conditions for compliance with international labour agreements and their requirements that are ratified, such as principles and basic rights to work in the country. He added that the reforms are both in line with the National Vision 2030 and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Al-Marri explained that the Labour Ministry co-operates with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the labour-exporting countries through continuous communication with their diplomatic missions, as well as with the communities that represent these workers on everything that would avoid and solve the problems and obstacles that the expatriate workers may face in the country.
Qatar has recently raised the minimum wage, and established a committee to protect the minimum wage. It has also established the Workers' Support and Insurance Fund and adopted a workplace inspection policy and occupational safety and health systems in accordance with international standards.
However, he admitted that there are still companies that do not comply with all labour laws. The minister has added that many of these companies have been penalised while other violations by companies will be looked at. Both Qatar and ILO say that the reforms are a work in progress.
Source: commonspace.eu with Gulf Times (Doha) and The Guardian (London).
Picture: Qatari Minister of Labour Dr Ali bin Saeed bin Smaikh Al-Marri in an interview with Al-Sharq Newspaper. Source: Al-Sharq Newspaper.
