James Lynch receives a memento from Minister for Labour and Social Affairs HE Abdullah al-Khulaifi.


Amnesty International yesterday welcomed the openness of Qatar in addressing the labour issues in the country while calling for speedy reforms in the whole system.
On the sidelines of the conference on ‘Labourers Rights Protection’, James Lynch, researcher for Migrants in the Gulf Region, Amnesty International,said that the country needs stronger implementation of the current laws as well as reforms wherever needed.
He said: “Qatar can adopt more actions in the whole system so that the world community will be apprised of the genuine efforts of the country. There is one opportunity for the country next week when Qatar’s human rights records will be examined at the UN in Geneva. We hope that Qatar could clearly make strong announcements during this time.”
According to Lynch  there were many problems such as the workers not being paid for many months. “The exit permit system is another issue that needs thorough revision. It is something that cannot be accepted under human rights. Getting rid of the exit permit system will be a very significant step to inform the international community  that the government is taking the labour issues very seriously. “
The Amnesty official said that the workers had  been facing several problems in Qatar and the region as a whole.
“On many occasions,  the workers do not get their salary on time. To file a case in the court in this regard, they have to pay heavy fees. Government must take steps to get rid of the fees that the workers have to pay at the labour court.”
He continued that the court procedures are too lengthy. “It takes several months to have the cases heard. Workers have to wait for so many months to have the verdict on their cases.These all are huge barriers for the workers to get their concerns addressed.There should be speedy resolutions of cases such as non payment of wages.”
Amnesty’s head of global issues, Audrey Gaughran, also addressed the forum and urged Qatar to go further and reform the sponsorship system.