Welcome initiativeDear Sir, Qatar Foundation’s plans to launch a new welfare initiative that has been designed to curb unfair employment practices is a move in the right direction (“QF ‘model’ guarantees rights of workers”, April 24). Qatar Foundation says the main objective of this project is the “effective execution of a comprehensive set of standards that can guarantee the rights of workers at all stages of the migration cycle from the moment they are recruited until they are repatriated to their home countries”. This is to be welcomed by all in Qatar. In October last year, Qatar Foundation signed the Migrant Workers Welfare Charter. The charter, it says, is a strong reflection of the “organisation’s belief that dignified living and working conditions are absolutely essential to unlocking human potential and indispensable to the Foundation’s mission of raising the quality of life for all workers in Qatar”.It is good that among the many unfair employment practices that Qatar Foundation is determined to curb are overcrowded living conditions and unethical recruitment processes. One hopes that the organisation will be successful in creating a model for others to follow in Qatar.T P Rasheed PO Box 766Doha
Taxi fare discrepancyDear Sir, In reference to the letter, “Same distance, different rates” (April 24), I have also noticed the discrepancy in the way fare is calculated by private taxi firms and Karwa.The difference, as given in yesterday’s letter, is staggering. One hopes Karwa will clear up the confusion and make efforts to unify the rates charged by all taxis for the same distance.NT(Full name and address supplied)