His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Sunday ratified Cabinet Decision No 6 of 2018 on forming committees to resolve labour disputes, the rules and procedures to be followed and the mechanism for implementing their decisions and determining their emoluments.
The law is effective starting from the day following its publication in the official gazette, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) has reported.
Earlier, in September last year, the Cabinet had approved a draft decision that lays down the regulations and procedures to be followed by the labour dispute resolution committees. 
The draft included provisions on forming committees to settle labour disputes and the scope of their work, as well as the conditions that required the management concerned to refer a dispute between the employer and employee to the labour dispute resolution panel. 
It also included “provisions on the grace period in case the management refers a dispute to the committee, the method and procedures to be followed for referrals, appeals to cancel any penalty decision ordered against an employee, the determination period for the first hearing of the dispute, notifying the dispute parties, appearing before the committee, dispute resolution procedures, notifying both parties of the procedures and decisions issued by the committee”, QNA had explained.
Earlier, in March 2017, the Cabinet approved a draft law to facilitate the creation of the labour dispute resolution committees. The draft legislation was prepared in view of concerns over workers’ rights and to simplify litigation procedures in labour disputes, according to QNA.
Also, in August last year, HH the Emir issued Law No 13 of 2017 amending some provisions of the Labour Law promulgated by law No 14 of 2004 and Law No 13 of 1990, by issuing the Civil and Commercial Procedures law. The law stipulated that a committee or more shall be created at the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs for resolving labour disputes. 
This committee alone shall have jurisdiction over resolving all the individual disputes resulting from the implementation of the stipulations of this law or the employment contract. Also, the members of the committee shall be independent, governed only by the law.
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