Dear Sir,
Increasingly in Qatar, I hear a lot of concerns being expressed about the need to improve migrant workers’ conditions. Such concerns are raised mostly by companies that seem to have a set global standard of treating their employees. However, they themselves seem to cut corners wherever they can and exercise the freedom to treat their employees in whatever way they can.
I work in one such company with many colleagues from Western nations. Since I belong to a so-called third-world country, my salary is half of my Western colleagues. Compared to my colleagues, I have higher education qualifications from one of best institutes of the world and I work equally hard if not more. I am also more willing than the my Western colleagues to put in extra work hours but still I am not treated as an equal to them and hardly appreciated. Such an attitude is demoralising indeed.
It seems that even “standard-setters” have double standards!
Perhaps the best solution to this problem will be if a concerned governing party in Qatar can set “minimum benchmarks” for companies in employing highly-skilled individuals, regardless of their origin, race and colour.
AA
(Full name and address supplied)
Errant motorists
Dear Sir,
Your editorial, “Motorists are responsible for road safety” (Gulf Times, September 15) quotes the alarming financial cost of traffic accidents. As per the study carried out by the Qatar Road Safety Studies Centre at Qatar University, more than 1mn accidents, which were recorded in Qatar between 2007 and 2012, had cost the state a whopping QR17.6bn. There were a total of 1,289 fatal accidents during the period.
The study, carried out by female students of the university’s College of Engineering, found that the cost of accidents in 2007 alone was around QR2.5bn and the cost of accidents in 2012 reached around QR3.2bn.
I must say that many drivers in Qatar don’t show little respect for traffic regulations and lane discipline. Mobile phone use while driving is rampant.
It would take much less than QR3.2bn to have professionally-trained officers to monitor traffic. Why can’t we have then stricter monitoring ?
It is really disturbing to see so many drivers of heavy vehicles, school buses and Kahrama buses wearing earplugs while on the road.
People who drive with earplugs or headphones can easily become inattentive. They can lessen a driver’s ability to hear sounds such as horns or sirens which are important in a traffic environment for safety.
Traffic police should take action against such errant motorists.
As your editorial rightly said: “There is no substitute for better road discipline. Motorists should be responsible and if they are not, the authorities concerned have to ensure that the rules are followed.”
Sabah-ur Rahman
(e-mail address supplied)
