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The increase in the number of “relentlessly negative” stories in the international media on the issue of conditions of migrant labour workforce in Qatar is “unjustifiable”, former US ambassador to Qatar Joseph LeBaron said yesterday.
Ambassador LeBaron, who is now the Brand Chairman of Global Building Solutions, was addressing the audience at the Meed Qatar Projects 2014 conference held under the patronage of Minister of Energy and Industry HE Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada.
He moderated a session on ‘assessing labour requirements and the solutions to provide the workforce for Qatar’s infrastructure and transport projects over the coming years.’
“We note the increase in the number of stories and the attention paid on the issue of migrant labour in Qatar. They are all relentlessly negative, unjustifiably so.
“What has been far less reported is the effort of Qatar’s government and its major institutions such as Qatar Foundation to address this critically important issue,” he said.
He praised QF for setting exemplary mandatory standards for the welfare of migrant workers. He also appreciated the foundation’s blueprint for guaranteeing a viable environment that was safe and healthy for workers.
LeBaron said that Qatar’s 2022 Supreme Committee, Ministry of Labour and various other bodies were deeply interested in taking action and improving the workers’ condition.
He reiterated that he was confident that Qatari government was ceased with the issue and would set appropriate standards for workers’ accommodation
“When I was ambassador in Qatar (between 2008 and 2011), I often talked about how wonderful it was to be in a country that had both the vision and the resources to accomplish that vision.
“I’ve been in countries that had vision but no resources, I’ve been in countries that had resources but no vision, but here I found a powerful combination of the two,” he added.
Rod Stewart, Managing Director Atkins, said that Qatar could surpass the standards of workers’ camps in Saudi Arabia and other regions in the GCC.
He said that the standards for workers were also a responsibility of clients, who have to recognise that they have to pay for improving the conditions of their workers.
He, however, requested the Qatari authorities for more transparency in their recruitment policies, especially in being clear about which workers from which nationalities will be cleared to get visas. “I understand the need for control, it is the government’s right to allow or disallow whom they choose, but we request them to be transparent,” he said.
He also highlighted the cumbersome red tape involved in the verification of degrees of their skilled white collar workers. He gave the example of himself when he was asked to verify his chartered engineering degree that he had obtained more than 30 years ago that was difficult to obtain.