Ciriaco A. Lagunzad III, Undersecretary (Deputy Minister) of the Philippines Department of Labour and Employment
DOHA: The Deputy Minister of Labour and Employment of the Philippines has praised the steps taken by Qatar in the area of safeguarding workers’ rights.
Ciriaco A. Lagunzad III (pictured), Undersecretary (Deputy Minister) of the Philippines Department of Labour and Employment, in his visit to Qatar, said that the Filipino community in Qatar are enjoying utmost workers’ welfare of the country.
“The Filipino community is part of the development of the country. We are comfortable and wanted to send big numbers of workforce to Qatar because the community is enjoying its rights,” said the Deputy Minister.
He added that there is cooperation at the highest level between the two ministries. The labour attaché at the Philippines Embassy and the labour sector in the ministry have regular communication almost on daily basis that enable the ministry to solve the day-to-day problems in a very practical and positive way. They work as one team, which help us overcome any problems that may arise.
“We are pleased about the outcome of this morning meeting. It was a short meeting but emphasis was on new legislation and practical measures that would be adopted to protect the workers. We were able to understand that new legislation will allow the exit of the workers without requiring an exit visa which is unprecedented and this is the first time I heard this policy, and we welcome this. We understand that this will be done for skilled workers as an experiment and once the mechanism is in place the same policy will be applied to domestic workers,” said the Deputy Minister.
He said that this would solve many problems, as it will allow our workers to exit when they need to exit without difficulty.
The Deputy Minister of Labour and Employment of the Philippines said that the measures that we see as important are the commitment from the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs to set up a shelter for workers who are waiting for their cases to be settled and claims to be paid. This will allow them time and give them a decent place to stay in.
“Also we have agreed to continue our communication and discussion for further agreements which could be reached. The purpose of these efforts is to improve the welfare and protection of Filipino workers,” he said.
He said that Qatar’s labour practices can be considered the best practices in the region and if this succeeds as a model then it will have a positive impact on the workforce.
“We like our Filipino workers to continue working in Qatar. We have skilled professional workers. They are engineers, architects, doctors, nurses and accountants. They are here to earn a living and they are contributing to the economy of their country and to the development of Qatar,” said Deputy Minister adding that they are partner in the development and there is commitment to take care of each of them.
“We train our workers, we orient them on culture, customs, industrial practices and legislation in Qatar and we expect in return that they will be treated well.” “We understand that Qatar is developing rapidly and growing fast and we are looking forward to holding the world cup here. We believe that we will contribute in the preparation for the world cup.”
“We have committed in the meeting to meet regularly. We took up fundamental issues and even difficult issues. But we have offered solutions that mutually benefit Qatar and the Philippines,” he said
“We believe that if the government cooperates well to the level of friendship and partnership then we expect major decisions, policies, programs and activities in favour of the workers.”
Our workers are our shared resource. We have trained them and have shared them with Qatar. They get good compensation, good living conditions with mutually beneficiary arrangement. We would like to see this continuing and hope to expand this relationship. We will take with us the commitment of the leadership of Qatar back to our country.
We are impressed by the development and progress in legislation to safeguard the workers’ rights. There is a commitment to work together and take care of the most vulnerable section of the workforce. The professionals can take care of themselves.
The target of public policy will always be towards expanding our relationship in trade, services and cultural exchange. I am very glad that this special committee to settle the labor dispute has been set up. I understood there is a legislation that requires three weeks to solve the dispute. It is an important landmark and a protective law. A quick decision is a justice in itself.
We welcome the legislation that would allow our workers to exit without getting an exit visa.
After setting up of workers fund, right after judgment or settlement in labour dispute cases the workers will get their pending wages and dues immediately which is unprecedented.
The fund will cut the process time even by half as the workers have less risk in deciding to work in Qatar because they know that if anything happens they will be protected by allowing this fund.
Labour dispute settlement committee does not charge workers any fees and it is free. Most important part of the relationship is really the work force agreement. Part of the relationship is really the sharing of culture and trade. Around 60 percent of Filipino here are professionals.
