The first of a series of Health, Safety and Environment Awareness Days in progress.
DOHA: Qatari Diar, the leading state-backed real estate company, yesterday said it will not work with companies that do not take workers’ safety seriously and fail to pay salaries on time.
The stern warning was given by a senior official during an event at Lusail City, attended by representatives of construction companies, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Supreme Council of Health (SCH).
Speaking at the first of a series of Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Awareness Days, Engineer Salem Rashed Al Kuwari, Qatari Diar’s Corporate HSE Senior Director, said, “There are some companies who are doing a great job, and we reward them, but there are other companies who are not paying their employees on time or taking care of their health and safety at work place. They should not be in business. I will not wait for the Ministry of Labour to intervene.
“We will not work with such companies who do not take safety seriously, either locally or internationally. They are at risk of slowing our projects and tarnishing our reputation. I hope my message is clear. We will not tolerate bad performance,” he added.
The meeting was held by Lusail Real Estate and Development Company (LREDC) to discuss health and safety issues with developers, contractors and sub-contractors.
“The purpose of the session was to reinforce the message from LREDC that breaches of health and safety will not be tolerated by the company,” said a press statement yesterday.
Waleed Al Khal Fakhroo, HSE Director at Lusail, urged the audience to take care of the migrant workforce. “These people are a long way from home and are helping to build our future. Let’s take care of them,” he said. Over 200 people from the construction industry attended the event that saw presentations by industry experts on legal obligations, health hazards and best practice.
Sandy Hines, HSE Supervisor at Parsons, the project management and construction management consultants for Lusail Developments, gave a presentation of HSE required standards at Lusail and on other projects.
“Lusail is part of a larger vision, not just FIFA 2022 but the legacy of the Qatar National Vision 2030. We have a workforce of over 20,000 employees within Lusail and our policy is that we aspire to drive all incidences and all accidents down to a zero level. Lusail will not tolerate any HSE violations.”
Hines said Parsons is going to start documentation based on “aggressive observation, inspection and audit”. “We monitor all construction packages, all developers and all site visitors to Lusail City, so be aware. Parsons will be initiating documentation based on aggressive observation, inspection and audit. We are checking every project. What we expect from you as project managers, engineers, designers and so on is to leave today with an understanding that safety issues are for everyone. It is an issue from the lowest level to senior management.”
Engineer Khaled Al Ghanem, Inspection Department Director at the ministry, and his colleague Engineer Hazem M Lashin, Occupational Safety and Health expert, gave a joint presentation on legal obligations of developers, contractors and sub-contractors which covered issues such as working hours, wages, and living conditions.
Dr Elmubasher Abu Baker Abdo, Supervisor Diseases Control and Public Health at SCH, spoke on prevention of communicable diseases such as tuberculosis and Dr Mohamad Olabrad, from Qatar Red Crescent, on common illnesses and diseases seen at work camp clinics. The Peninsula
