DOHA: The proposed amendments in the labour law that will make it mandatory on employers to transfer salaries to banks is expected to be issued by the end of this year, the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs H E Dr Abdullah Saleh Mubarak Al Khulaifi (pictured) has hinted.
The Minister, during a recent meeting with editors-in-chief of local newspapers, however, ruled out the possibility of introducing minimum wages for workers in Qatar.
The meeting was held as part of a government plan to launch a campaign involving local media against the continuing international propaganda against Qatar over workers’ rights. Head of various departments at the ministry were also present at the meeting.
The Minister reiterated that there is no ban on recruiting workers to Qatar from any country or nationality.
He said five labour cities are coming up in Qatar and a study is under way to assess the housing requirements of the burgeoning labour force in the country. Once work on all the housing projects is completed, it will solve the issue of scattered labour accommodations.
Addressing the meeting, the Minister said, the proposed amendments in the law will include financial rights of workers and mandatory transfer of employees’ salaries to banks by the end of every month.
A draft decision to this effect was issued by the Ministry in July this year. It was sent to the State Cabinet which in turn referred it to the Advisory Council for its recommendations. The Council is expected to discuss the issue in its forthcoming session, Al Sharq reports.
“We accept the criticisms against us. We have nothing to hide. We have no reservations in dealing with the media,” the Minister told the gathering.
“We are working under pressure. Our inspectors, who are bestowed with judicial powers are doing their best. They have to protect the privacy of the companies while doing their job. They have taken an oath not to leak the secrets of companies,” he added.
The Minister said it is not possible to fix a minimum wage for workers since Qatar has a free economy that functions on the basis of demand and supply rules. On complaints about the high fees charged by manpower agencies, the Minister said this issue was discussed during a meeting with representatives of the agencies.
He said there is no huge difference in fees in Qatar, compared to other GCC countries.
“Our inspectors are closely monitoring the performance of manpower agencies to see how much they comply with the labour law,” said the minister.
The Minister said the decision to build labour cities was taken five years ago and it was not driven by international pressure.
He said Qatarisation of jobs has reached 20 percent and the ministry is working to increase it to 30 percent in the near future.
The private sector, especially banks, are also taking several initiatives to employ more citizens.
The Peninsula
