By Ayman Adly/Staff Reporter

An impressive example of the Nepalese workers’ success in Qatar is Sandesh Tamany, a safety officer at Bouygues Batiment International which handles the construction of QP Financial District Project in West Bay.
He came to Qatar in 2006 as an unskilled labourer on a very low salary. Then he started to learn on site. Today earns a monthly salary of QR7,000.
Tamany told Gulf Times that most uneducated and unskilled workers from Nepal usually have unrealistically high expectations.
“They pay money to the local recruiter and accept salaries as low as QR600 thinking it is excellent compared to their local standards. But, when they come here they are often disappointed due to the high prices and their inability to make the expected savings,” he explained.
Gilles Rolland, project director of Bouygues Batiment International, said the reports that appeared in a section of international media recently about the hardships faced by Nepalese workers in Qatar were highly exaggerated.
“Our company provides our workers with well equipped accommodations that comply with the local standards, free quality meals throughout the day and adequate transportation,” he said.
Rolland explained that the company has more than 4,000 workers of different nationalities and categories. There is a clinic on site and labourers can freely file complaints about grievances, which are investigated and acted upon.
“Nepalese workers are industrious and hard working. They are peaceful and ready to learn at work. They are highly reliable in accomplishing the job as well,” stressed John J O’shea, Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) manager of the project.
He said that the site had a training hall where all workers pass introductory and regular HSE training, conducted as an essential part of work.
A considerable number of Nepalese employees of Mowasalat also told Gulf Times that the negative reports about their conditions in Qatar were “unfair and exaggerated.”
Most drivers at Karwa accommodations expressed their satisfaction about the upgraded facilities including bedrooms and recreation halls.
“Our salaries are paid on time and we enjoy a work environment of respect. We got the same job and pay we were promised when we were recruited back home,” said Panam Lama, a Nepalese driver.



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