Labour Law Reforms in Qatar: Challenges and Opportunities for Business

Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs will organize a conference on Labor Law reforms in Qatar – the challenges and business opportunities. The conference will be held from October 17 to 18 at the Sheraton Doha Hotel in cooperation with the International Labor Organization and the Institute for Human Rights and Business.

Two working days will be held including recent amendments to the Qatar Labor Law, Qatari private sector initiatives in partnership with other actors to develop the business environment, review of international experiences to benefit from them, international expectations and corporate responsibility for respect for human rights in the context of employment. In addition to the topic of how to manage risks and future ambitions to develop the working environment.

Day 1: Identifying Opportunities and Challenges – 10:30 – 14:00

09:30 – 10:30 Coffee & Registration
10:30 – 11:00 Welcoming Remarks

  • H.E. Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al-Thani, Chairman, Qatar Chamber
  • H. E Mr. Yousif Mohammed Al Othman Fakhroo, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs
  • Houtan Homayounpour, Head, ILO project Office for the State of Qatar
  • John Morrison, CEO, Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB)
11:00 – 11:30 Panel 1: Recent Labour Law Reforms in Qatar

  • Mohammad Hassan Alobaidli, Assistant Undersecretary for Labour Affairs, Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs
  • Houtan Homayounpour, Head, ILO project Office for the State of Qatar
11:30 – 12:00 Coffee & Prayer
12:00 – 13:00 Panel 2: Promising initiatives and practices in Qatar

  • Mahmoud Qutub, Senior Advisor, Special Projects Office and Executive Director, Workers’ Welfare Department, Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy
  • Abdulla Y Al Mulla, Qatar Insurance Company
  • Sheikha Amal Al-Thani, Executive Director for Health, Safety, Security & Environment, Qatar Foundation

Moderated by: Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, Director of Legal, Qatar Chamber
13:00  – 14:00 Panel 3: Learnings from Other Contexts

  • Henriette McCool, Social Innovation Manager, QDVC / VINCI
  • James Donald, Corporate Counsel, Intercontinental Hotels Group
  • Stefan Geyser, Area Director of Human Resources, Marriott
  • Farhan A Ifram, MAS Kreeda

Moderated by: Henrik Moller, Senior Employers’ Specialist, ILO
14:00 Lunch – Hosted by the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs

Day 2: Practical Steps for Companies – 09:30 – 13:30

09:00 – 09:30 Coffee
09:30 – 10:30

Panel 1: International Expectations and the Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights in the context of Fair Recruitment and Ensuring Labour Mobility

  • Alix Nasri, Technical Specialist, ILO project Office for the State of Qatar
  • Matthias Thorns, Director of Stakeholder Engagement, International Organization of Employers (IOE)
  • Hala Al Ali, Legal expert, National Human Rights Committee of Qatar

Moderated by: William Rook, Regional Manager, IHRB
10:30 – 11:30
 Panel 2: Industry Initiatives and beyond: How can Qatari companies be involved?

  • Nicolas Perin, Programme Manager, International Tourism Partnership
  • Henriette McCool, VINCI (Building Responsibly)
  • Neill Wilkins, Programme Manager – Migrant Workers, IHRB

Moderated by: Stuart Bell, Ergon Associates
11:30 – 12:00
 Coffee & Prayer
12:00-13:00
 Panel 3: Managing Risk

  • Tristan Forster, CEO, FSI Worldwide
  • Marie Apostol, Director, Fair Hiring Initiative
  • Stuart Bell, Ergon Associates

Moderated by: Alix Nasri, Technical Specialist, ILO project Office for the State of Qatar
13:00 – 13:30
 The Way Forward

  • Mohammad Hassan Alobaidli, Assistant Undersecretary for Labour Affairs, Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs
  • Houtan Homayounpour, Head, ILO project Office for the State of Qatar
  • Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, Director of Legal, Qatar Chamber
  • William Rook, Regional Manager, IHRB
13:30
Lunch – Hosted by Qatar Chamber. 

Registration is now closed as we have reached our full capacity for the event.

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