Labor Day, or May Day, is an annual American holiday which later became an international occasion as it honours the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws, and well-being of the globe and people residing on it.
May Day is also the reason behind the so-called eight-hour day movement which advocates for eight hours of work, eight hours of recreation, and eight hours of rest.
Qatar, the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, is one with the world in the celebration of this rather relevant occasion and with this article, we're going to tell you how the government creates a safe and healthy working environment for all of its mighty workers.
Qatar has made significant progress in improving workers’ conditions and protecting their rights, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
This statement was made public during an event conducted by the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (MADLSA) and representatives of the ILO in Doha last March.
Director of ILO office in Qatar Hutan Humayunpour told media persons during that fateful day:
“What we are seeing here is keenness by the concerned bodies to come up with measures to provide best working and living conditions for labourers and we at ILO must be fair with all the parties, government, labourers and employers,” he concluded.
We've collected a number of supporting reports to validate this claim so make sure to keep a closer eye as you scroll down.
Qatar VISA Centers (QVC), a newly-launched programme that allows VISA applicants to sign on work contracts digitally, enroll workers' biometrics, and undergo mandatory medical test all under one roof, and etc, are now opened in four countries including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India.
QVCs are characterized by rapid completion of procedures for the residency of expatriates and follow-up by the relevant authorities in Qatar. The project has been successful in providing distinct services in a simplified and more advanced way.
More QVC branches are set to open in four more labour-exporting countries like Nepal, Indonesia, Tunisia, and the Philippines.
It was October 28 last year when the law to scrap the ever-controversial use of Exit Permits came into force.
As per the amendment, the expatriate workers that come under the Qatar Labour Law can leave the country without obtaining a prior permit, while the employer can restrict up to 5% of his workforce to obtain a prior consent because of the nature of their work.
The Ministry of Interior (MOI) also urged the employers to register the name of employees who will require prior approval before leaving the country due to their nature of work.
The percentage of such workers shall not exceed 5% of the total number of employees. It should be submitted to the ministry through the online platform, which has been launched on the Ministry's website which can be easily accessed HERE.
MADLSA announced very recently the issuance of ministerial decision No. 21 of 2019 on “Joint Labor Committees” within establishments subject to the provisions of the Labour Law.
The establishing of these committees will play an important role in creating an environment conducive to production, which will bring many benefits to the Qatari labour market, and contribute significantly to raising the level of work and thus increasing production within companies, especially big companies with large numbers of workers.
The joint committees will work to strengthen the atmosphere of cooperation, improve working relationships and increase organisational efficiency within companies, as well as the expected role of addressing complaints internally without resorting to other mechanisms.
Moreover, the joint committees will play an important role in the awareness raising process and the delivery of messages and guidance to workers in companies and enterprises.
MADLSA has as well revealed that they're in cooperation with the ILO to come up with a guide on protection from heat stress.
The guide has a number of tips and requirements that any place must have in order to protect workers from the dangers of heat and to ensure that they can carry out their work at the required productivity level in all fields whether industrial, construction and agricultural.
This move is in reference to the MOI's latest innovation, the “Smart Vest”, which protects workers from the hot weather and alerts about the health status of the worker. It cools the body of a labourer working in the external hot sites.
These programmes and devices highlight the State of Qatar’s commitment to occupational safety and health, evident in the comprehensive policies and strategies it introduced to reduce accidents, injuries and work-related diseases.
Qatar, just like every developing country, is 100% committed to occupational safety and health, evident in the comprehensive policies and strategies it introduced to reduce accidents, injuries and work-related diseases.
MADLSA works in a proactive and effective way to avoid injuries and deaths in the workplace, pointing out that the death rate of workers in the country is 1.6 per 100,000 workers, less than half the proportion in the US.
Qatar has long affirmed its interest in the promotion and protection of human rights as a strategic option for country in the provisions and principles of the Constitution and national legislation, which are in line with the international conventions and instruments related to human rights to which Qatar has acceded, and it stressed that it has spared no effort to improve and develop labour laws.
HE the Permanent Representative of Qatar to the UN, ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif al-Thani said:
"In line with Qatar's policy to promote human rights, it has spared no effort to improve and develop labour laws, the living standards and provide a decent life for labourers. We are keen in dealing with this issue with transparency that reflects our commitment to international labour standards and expatriate labour who contributed to the process of construction and development witnessed by the State".
An International Workers’ Day conference was held earlier today (May 1) under the theme “Qatar’s Contributions to Protect Rights of Workers”. It's also in celebration of the one-hundredth anniversary of the ILO.
Qatar has achieved a lot in the field of protecting workers’ rights and the conference comes at a when many international organisations are appreciating Qatar’s role in this regard. Qatar has become a model for ensuring the rights of workers and adopting the best standards for workers’ care based on a series of laws and regulations issued in recent months.
For everything that you need to know about the Qatar Labour Law, click HERE!
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