His Excellency Dr. Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri, Minister of Labor, revealed the Ministry’s plans in the next phase towards many files of interest to citizens, employees, recruits and business owners.
In a comprehensive dialogue with Al Sharq, he dealt with many files related to work, workers and the business community, pointing out that there are strict measures to implement policies and plans for nationalizing jobs in the private sector, in addition to qualifying and training Qataris, considering this as one of the Ministry’s priorities to attract citizens to work in the private sector, announcing procedures for A deterrent against companies that circumvent the localization of jobs.
He said: The ministry is interested in providing job security for citizens in the private sector, and following up on any obstacles they face.
He stressed that the ministry’s doors are open to receive citizens’ complaints to stand by them to obtain their full employment rights.
He added that the procedures include coordinating with the competent authorities to set a maximum limit for the fees for bringing home users, in addition to studying the possibility of insuring the escape of home users to reduce the burden on the recruiter.
He said that the ministry is following up on complaints about recruitment and is working to develop solutions to them, and that recruitment offices that receive numerous and repeated complaints will be closed, in addition to tightening control procedures on recruitment offices.
The following is the text of the interview:
** You assumed the responsibility of the Ministry of Labor, after its separation from Administrative Development and Social Affairs, we would like to shed light on the most prominent tasks and priorities of the Ministry.
There are two priorities that the Ministry of Labor is actively working on. The first is to localize jobs for male and female Qataris looking for work in the private sector, through a package of mandatory procedures and effective mechanisms. In this context, the Ministry of Labor has concluded agreements with representatives of the private sector, with the aim of qualifying and employing human cadres. of the national workforce, and opening new horizons for Qatari job seekers and their employment with major private sector companies, including the two agreements recently concluded by the Ministry, the first with the Qatar Financial Center, and the second with Qatar Airways. The Ministry of Labor will continue its efforts to localize jobs in the private sector in line with the ministry’s visions and policy to encourage Qatari citizens to work in the private sector by concluding more agreements with various private sector institutions during the coming period. Responsible for employing citizens in government jobs.
The second priority is related to labor legislation; The ministry is working on continuing to analyze the work environment, in light of the changes in the labor market, and what it requires of balanced planning for the workforce, focusing on productivity and the requirements of the next stage, and finding solutions to all challenges related to expatriate workers in a way that preserves the rights of both sides of the equation; workers and employers.
*** Are new procedures expected in the field of job localization? What are the areas of developing the program to qualify national cadres for the labor market in order to achieve its objectives? And the solutions that you offer if the job is not suitable for the academic qualifications?
As I said, the localization of jobs in the private sector is one of the most prominent priorities for the Ministry during the coming period, and we will work on concluding agreements with various private sector institutions to reach understandings about the jobs required for them and the possibility of qualifying and training human cadres in proportion to those jobs, and during the coming period a new system will be launched Through it, citizens can view the jobs available in the private sector and choose the appropriate jobs for them in line with their qualifications and experiences. Labor Law Implementation of Emiratisation policies and plans.Other affiliated companies or any other methods that prevent the optimal utilization of the Qatari workforce.
** How will the Ministry of Labor encourage Qatari nationals to join the private sector, and are there job opportunities for them there?
There are many job opportunities in the private sector, and Qatari job seekers can join them, especially the major companies. Therefore, the Ministry has adopted during the last period an approach based on consultations with private sector institutions, to increase the percentage of localization of jobs for them through the qualification and training of national cadres, in addition to To study the relevant legislative options, in order to encourage the creation of job opportunities in the private sector.
In order to achieve the ministry’s priority in nationalizing jobs in the private sector and qualifying, training and developing the skills of Qatari men and women to join the private sector, the ministry is currently working on developing plans and policies to attract citizens to work in the private sector in cooperation with various concerned authorities, in order to achieve the highest benefit from qualified national cadres. The ministry will also work to provide job security for citizens in the private sector, and will closely follow up any obstacles they face, and the doors of the ministry are open to receive any complaints to them and will stand by them to ensure their job rights, especially since the employee is the weakest party in the contract, and being the weakest party in the contract, must The interpretation of the ambiguity of any clauses in the work contract is in his favour, and modern judicial systems have tended to explain the ambiguity surrounding the clauses of the system for the benefit of the weaker party, on the grounds that “doubt is explained in his favour,” based on the fact that the system came to protect his rights.
**Can you tell us the number of male and female citizens who joined the private sector in recent months? The number and nature of complaints received by the Ministry?
According to statistics, in the last three months of last year, the number of Emiratis appointed to the private sector reached 230, and 55 male and female children were appointed to various jobs in the private sector. As for the complaints, they amounted to 243, of which 51 were settled, 55 are still under procedure, while 137 were referred to the dispute committees. According to the decisions issued by these committees, 75% of them came in favor of the citizen. These complaints relate to the end of service gratuity, unfair dismissal, performance evaluation, or non-promotion.
** What are the legislations that you are developing, with regard to domestic workers, in a way that preserves the rights of both parties and addresses this file?
Applications for recruiting workers from abroad, granting licenses to recruit workers from abroad for others, and settling disputes that arise between recruitment offices and employers in accordance with the Labor Law and the decisions implementing it, and referring these disputes to the judiciary if they cannot be settled amicably. It will also work, in coordination with the competent authorities, to combat fraud by domestic labor brokers, by injecting fake advertisements to provide workers through social media, ignoring the warnings of the Ministry of Labor against dealing with advertisements for the use of domestic workers in the media from unauthorized individuals or entities. .
** Are there measures taken by the ministry to ensure the speedy issuance of work licenses, which may take some time?
The Ministry is working to launch a comprehensive electronic system for all the services it provides and will be available during the coming period, leading to paperless services, to ensure the speed of procedures, especially for companies committed to the provisions of the Labor Law, and the Ministry is currently working within the fast track, where the completion of the transaction does not take more than one day.
As for companies that are not committed, or the Ministry has not provided sufficient information and has not updated their data, it is required to refer them to inspection, to ensure their compliance with the provisions of the Labor Law, and then they are granted the necessary licenses. Here, it must be noted that the Ministry of Labor is developing the work of the Ministry’s external offices, in a manner that facilitates and speeds up the provision of services to the public and auditors at the required speed, in addition to continuing to digitize the Ministry’s services and simplifying its procedures. on reviewers.
** What are the plans and procedures of the Ministry of Labor, to meet the need of employers to bring in skilled workers and employees, suitable for their activities?
The Ministry is keen to provide a healthy and balanced work environment through consultation with the various relevant institutions in the country. It will also work to meet the needs of employers during the coming period in line with Qatar Vision 2030 and national strategies in this regard. The Ministry will be keen to provide skilled labor, And approval of recruitment requests of nationalities determined by the employer, and the jobs and professions that suit his activity.
** What are the most prominent violations that the inspection teams in the Ministry of Labor have seized, and what are the Ministry’s controls to prevent the recurrence of violations?
The Ministry plays a supervisory role on various private sector companies, to follow up the companies’ compliance with the Labor Law. Inspection teams have carried out more than “35 thousand” inspection rounds since the beginning of 2021, during which “6994” companies were violated due to violations of work sites, and about “2509” companies , due to violations of accommodation, and the Workers’ Support Fund was able to disburse many workers’ dues for which court rulings were issued.
** It has been announced that several companies have been transferred to the judiciary, on charges of violating the Labor Law. Are there major violations in this aspect?
The State of Qatar continues its efforts to implement the laws regulating the work environment and the reforms it has approved in this aspect. It rejects and criminalizes all forms of exploitation, and respects human rights principles, such as freedom, justice and equality sanctioned by all international legislation, and is a minimum for preserving human dignity. Last November, 6 companies working in the services and contracting sector were referred to the security authorities, on charges of violating the Labor Law and the procedures regulating it. Some company owners were referred to the Public Prosecution and arrested for non-payment of wages or violating the Labor Law. Appropriate actions against these companies, in accordance with the legislation and legal measures followed in the State of Qatar.
** What are the most prominent areas of cooperation with the International Labor Organization and labor-exporting countries to provide a satisfactory and fair work environment for business partners?
The State of Qatar adopted many legislative and administrative reforms and established a partnership with the International Labor Organization in 2017, in the context of supporting the country’s ambitious efforts to reform the labor sector, and in a manner that achieves the conditions for compliance with international labor agreements and their requirements that are ratified as principles and basic rights to work in the country. Notable achievements have been made since that time, and this has contributed to the realization of the National Vision 2030 and the 2030 Global Sustainable Development Plan, especially Goal 8 of the Sustainable Development Goals on decent work and economic growth. The Ministry of Labor, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, cooperates with labor-exporting countries through continuous communication with the diplomatic missions of these countries, as well as cooperates with the communities that represent these workers in everything that would avoid and solve the problems and obstacles that may face expatriate workers in the country.
** The International Labor Organization praised the conditions of labor in Qatar, and the reforms that have been made to correct these conditions? Despite this, there are still claims that these reforms are not enough? And that there are deaths that occur to workers because of working on World Cup projects?
In fact, the State of Qatar has been a pioneer in modernizing labor legislation and laws, regulating the labor market and developing mechanisms for their implementation to ensure the preservation of the rights of both employers and workers, which made the State of Qatar achieve qualitative achievements in this field. Over the past years, we have witnessed a number of reforms in The labor sector since the abolition of the sponsorship system in 2015 until this year, which witnessed the decision to raise the minimum wage, and the establishment of a specialized committee to protect the minimum wage, according to the recommendations of the comprehensive independent evaluation, the establishment of the workers’ support and insurance fund, and the adoption of the workplace inspection policy and safety and health systems Professionalism according to international standards. It has become known that there are some suspicious campaigns to distort the image of the State of Qatar before the world despite the qualitative reforms undertaken by the State of Qatar during the past years.
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