1-10-2019
Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs and the Qatar Chamber hosted a high-level forum entitled ‘Business and Migration: Strengthening dialogue between the private sector and governments’ in cooperation with the International Organization of Employers (IOE), and the International Labor Organization (ILO) Project Office for the State of Qatar.
The one-day conference is part of the Global Forum on Migration and Development’s mechanism of action. The forum highlighted the role of the business sector in labour reform and migration management.
In his opening speech, HE the Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs Yousef bin Mohamed al-Othman Fakhro has said that the State of Qatar has embarked on an ambitious programme to reform labour laws and legislation in order to improve workers’ rights and ensure economy movement.
He also stressed that many reforms have been adopted so far and many are under development, reflecting the country’s commitment to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The minister added that in order to ensure the success of these reforms, it is essential that the government and the private sector work hand in hand, and this approach will ensure that reforms are moving in the right direction to create a good labour market, with changes implemented effectively by companies.
He expressed his gratitude over the inauguration of this high-level conference, which is based on the theme of “Strengthening dialogue between the private sector and governments” and is organised in co-operation with the partners of the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the International Labour Organisation and the International Organisation of Employers, under the auspices of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD).
The minister noted that the GFMD had been established in 2015 with the aim to strengthen research, discussion and dialogue mechanisms with governments on the management of labour migration.
The minister also expressed pride in hosting the event in Doha for the first time, and hoped that discussions of the one-day forum would provide useful messages to be shared during the Global Forum on Migration and Development meeting to be held in Ecuador in November this year.
The minister concluded by expressing his hope that the participants in the forum will discuss recent experiences and good practices in the field of labour migration management developed in the State of Qatar, as well as learning from experiences around the world to understand how they can support national efforts under this framework.
Since there are no one-size-fits-all solutions in labour migration policies, “we must collectively think about the best way to achieve our common goals,” he added.
Second Vice-Chairman of Qatar Chamber, Rashid Hamad Al Athba, stressed that the growth witnessed by Qatar in all economic and commercial fields requires an increasing number of expatriate workers who participate in projects implemented by the State and work in various sectors of the State.
He stressed that Qatar has made a tremendous leap in terms of labour rights and the safeguarding of their full rights, adding it has implemented several ambitious labour market reform measures that are undoubtedly the first-of-its-kind in the region and has adopted a number of legislation and reforms that reflect its commitment to providing a safe and secure working environment.
For his part, Employer Representative, Former Board Member of QCCI, Nasser Al Meer, said that the Qatari business community and Qatari companies have welcomed the reforms adopted by Qatar in the field of employment, and dealt with them positively, because these reforms are beneficial to their business in the first place and the reputation of the State of Qatar in general.
He noted the great interest of Qatar Chamber in these procedures, pointing to the commitment of companies to apply the requirements of occupational safety and health within the workplace and in workers’ dorms and to implement the requirements of the Qatari Labor Law towards providing a healthy and professional work environment.
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