A Labour Ministry official has said it is up to the discretion of employer’s to decide on minimum wage for workers.
“Minimum wage … that is a relationship between employer and employee,” Labour Relations Department manager Salih Saeed al-Shawi told Gulf Times.
“Our job is to ensure that the laws are being followed,” al-Shawi added.
Upgraded to a full-fledge office along with Recruitment Department and Inspection Department, the Labour Relations Department is the “middle man between employer and employee, he said.
The department conducts certification of contracts and agreements, arbitrates contractual disputes and even refers them to the Inspection Department when needed.
“In case of a grievance, an employee should first bring it to the employer. After seven days, if the situation remains unchanged then they should come to us,” he explained.
Following the registration of a case, the department will then bring the two parties together and try to arbitrate.
“If the employer refuses still, then the Labour Department will refer the case to the court by submitting a court memo,” he added.
“The situation is increasingly becoming better for both employers and employees to amicably resolve their grievances though. In some cases, we have been successful in getting as much as QR60,000 in salary arrears, for instance,” al-Shawi noted.
Where the complaint is related to housing, Labour Relations will prompt the Inspection Department which will send its emergency team out to the field.
According to al-Shawi, the labour law of Qatar is “more than good enough, but is continuously worked on.”
“We continue to collect best practices and laws from across the world. These improvements are gathered and suggested as addendums to the existing one,” he added.
http://gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=307296&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16
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