DOHA: The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is making available a uniform job contract format to private companies in CDs on an experimental basis ahead of expected launch of an online contract system for foreign workers by early next year.
The idea is to see the merits and demerits of electronic employment contract system which is likely to be introduced by the Labour Ministry at the end of first quarter of 2016.
Companies are supposed to fill up the employment contract form handed to them in CDs and return them to the Ministry. A company representative can later visit the Ministry and pay the required fees, reports Al Sharq.
The online employer-employee contract system will not be mandatory and only those companies will be part of the new system that volunteer to participate. So also in the CD system being currently experimented with, only those companies that have volunteered are taking part.
The Ministry is also making an extensive database of private companies and the online contract system aims at making contract-signing a transparent system.
The new system will protect the rights of foreign workers as companies wouldn’t be able to change the terms and conditions originally agreed to with a worker in his home country once he arrives here. Workers, before coming to Qatar to take up a job, will be able to access a government website and key in their name and visa number to access their job contract containing terms and conditions, including pay and perks.
Once in Qatar a worker will be required to key in his Qatari ID number to access his e-contract on the said website.
Endorsement of an online job contract by the Labour Ministry will be done automatically if all the requirements are fulfilled, and the company will be informed of it and it will be able to pay the required fee using a credit card.
Companies will also be informed when an e-contract is expiring. The online service will be initially offered in 10 languages, including Urdu and Nepalese. It is understood that the other languages could be of those expatriate communities that have a larger presence here. Job contracts in Qatar are presently in two languages — Arabic and English.
The new system is being introduced as part of a series of labor reforms Qatar is introducing. The country is launching a wage protection system (WPS) whereby blue-collar workers will be paid salaries online. Plans are also afoot to replace the present kafala and exit permit systems with expatriate-friendly systems.
The Peninsula
