International praise for Qatar’s labour reforms

HE the Minister of Labour Dr Ali bin Saeed bin Smaikh al- Marri has affirmed that Qatar has adopted a sustainable approach to develop and modernise legislation and laws and optimise the business environment.

The minister confirmed that the improvements to the labour environment came in alignment with Qatar National Vision 2030, while the organisation of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has been a crucial factor in accelerating the pace of development of labour legislation.

The observations were made during a panel discussion organised by the Ministry of Labour (MoL), entitled ‘Qatar’s Labour Reforms: Tripartite Co-operation Towards a Common Vision’, on the sidelines of the 110th session of the International Labour Conference 2022 currently convening in Geneva.

The panel discussion comes within the framework of highlighting labour legislative reforms and their implementation mechanisms that have been carried out over the past years to improve the work environment in Qatar, in addition to strengthening co-operation with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), International TradeUnion Confederation (ITUC) and International Organisation of Employers (IOE).

The discussion, which was held under the patronage of HE Dr al-Marri, was attended by Moussa Oumarou, ILO’s deputy director-general for Field Operations & Partnerships; Sharan Burrow, general secretary of ITUC; and Roberto Suarez Santos, secretary-general of IOE.

It was moderated by Max Tunon, head of the ILO Office in Doha, and attended by European and African labour ministers, ambassadors and representatives of employers, in addition to workers’ representatives.

The participants in the conference hailed the fundamental reforms carried out by Qatar in the labour sector during the past years, stressing that Qatar refutes all the accusations it was exposed to during the malicious campaign directed against those reforms.

The minister explained that the distinguished partnership between Qatar and the International Labour Organisation, as well as many other international organisations, over the past years have significantly contributed to improving the work and business environment in Qatar. He noted that the technical co-operation agreement signed by Qatar and the ILO in 2017 provided a vital impetus to strengthening that partnership.

Dr al-Marri said Qatar has hosted, over the past years, hundreds of delegations from international labour organisations to make them familiar with the reality of the business environment.

He praised the role played by these delegations in relaying the truth to the world. The minister noted that despite the improvements and reforms made by Qatar in the labour sector, unfortunately there have seen some ill-willed campaigns aimed at distorting the truth and downplaying the importance of the reform steps taken by Qatar, the MoL said in a statement. He confirmed that Qatar, represented by the Ministry of Labour, is open to any constructive dialogue or discussion devoted to developing the business environment in the country, indicating that the doors are open to all labour organisations and unions to submit proposals and consult on labour issues.

He also stressed that Qatar is fully ready to share its successful experience in developing and modernising the work environment with the ILO member states, and its willingness to utilise the successful experiences as part of the sustainable approach it is pursuing in developing and upgrading the business environment.

Dr al-Marri reviewed the most prominent legislative updates and developments in the business and work environment in the country, including the abolition of the exit permit and no-objection certificate from the previous employer, the establishment of a non- discriminatory minimum wage, establishment of visa centres abroad, and providing a support and insurance fund for workers to protect and guarantee their financial rights, in addition to establishing labour dispute settlement committees and adopting a wage protection system.

At the conclusion of his remarks, the minister underlined that Qatar continues to pursue a sustainable approach so as to improve and modernise the business environment legislation in the coming years. He also underscored that some are trying in vain to link labour reforms with the end of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, stressing that optimising the business environment is a long-term strategy. On his part, Oumarou stressed that Qatar has enforced an array of fundamental reforms in the labour sector, which are considered to be the broadest in the past years, noting that the laws and legislation that have been modi-

fied have contributed to improving the work environment in the country.

He welcomed the constant co-operation between ILO, ITUC and Qatar, underlining that Qatar is a model for all ILO member states in terms of fruitful co-operation that resulted in multiple premium reforms dedicated to the labour sector. “We wish that progress in reforms in Qatar would provide a positive image for the country after the 2022 FIFA World Cup,” he added.

Burrow described the labour reforms in Qatar over the past decade as a tremendous success story that comes in support of the global labour sector reforms strategy, calling for the need for everyone to replicate this pioneering experience of Qatar in other countries of the region.

She explained that many fundamental reforms have been formulated in Qatar over the past years, including, but not limited to, setting a minimum wage, stressing that the sponsorship system in Qatar “died years ago”, and that there is no discrimination against expatriates any more in Qatar.

She noted that the establishment of judicial committees specialised in working in Qatar took one year, while in other countries it takes a long time, praising this progress in terms of settling labour disputes in the country. She appreciated this concrete progress at the level of labour disputes settlement in Qatar, affirming that the country provides advisory to other countries on the reforms that have been implemented during the past few years. “I have known Sharan for many years, and I have not seen her speak positively about such a thing, because it is usually very difficult,” Suarez Santos said.

He noted that Qatar has been working during the past years to open more dialogue prospects with the international organisations and international partners, which helped in strengthening the mutual confidence.

“We have witnessed various brainstorm meetings devoted to optimising the business environment in Qatar and this ultimately took place” he added. The official underlined that Qatar has managed to make great accomplishment in partnership with the all, particularly at the level of governments, employers and workers, considering what happened in Qatar is a triumph for these parties, and would contribute to international development.

He emphasised that the experience of Qatar is a clear path for everyone to move forward to achieve fundamental reforms in the labour sector in various countries of the world