In referring the case to a government agency in Qatar, the NHRC
Qatar and CHRP case officers shall be
guided by the flowcharts as illustrated in the annex.
IV.
1.
Laws, Policies and Institutions in Qatar Aiming for the Protection of
Migrant Workers
Decrees Nos. 40 and 41 of 2018 on the accession of the State of Qatar to the International Covenants
on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
2.
Law No. 13 of 2018 regulates the entry and exit of expatriates, and abolished the exit permit for expatriate
workers during the term of the contract without restrictions, and helps promote and protect the right to
freedom of movement and travel. Employers may exclude a percentage not exceeding 5% of the workers
in the facility due to the nature of their work where they should obtain the approval of the competent
authority to leave the state. For workers not subject to the Labor Law No. 14 of 2014, the regulations and
procedures for their departure from the country shall be determined by a decision of the Minister. The
applicant shall submit a request to the Appeals Committee to decide on the request conceming leaving
the country within three working days.
3.
Opening of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Doha Office in April 2018 to support the
implementation of a comprehensive program on working conditions and labor rights in the state. During
the program period (2018-2020), the ILO Technical Adviser in charge of the program will submit an annua
progress
report to the ILO Governing
body at its November
session each year. The
report shall cover
several objectives including:
a)
Wage
protection: the adoption of a statutory minimum wage and expanding the scope of the
b)
Labor Inspection Policy will be implemented to monitor occupational health and safety, where
the powers of labor inspectors will be effectively applied, communication with expatriate workers
implementation of the wage protection system;
will be enhanced through providing interpretation and the activation of the system of registering
work injuries and occupational diseases.
The State of Qatar will implement a national plan of action on forced labor, including measures to address
the phenomena of withholding of passports, contract substitution or alteration, and any impediment to the
right of victims to access justice, and to strengthen complaints mechanisms.
4.
Council
of Ministers
Decision
No.
(15) of 2017
on the establishment
of the
National
Committee
to
Combat Human Trafficking that act as the national coordinator of monitoring, preventing and combating
trafficking of human beings. The State of Qatar is working hard to find solutions to tackle the problem of
unethical
recruitment
practices.
It
recently
hired
VFS
specialized in labor recruitment and following ethical norms,
by Sri Lanka's first outsourcing center that grants visas
services, the state of Qatar is expected to open dozens of
the Philippines, the One-Stop Qatar Visa Center opened on
5.
Global,
a
Management
Services
Company,
and adopted a decent work strategy. Inspired
to expatriates and provide contract signing
similar centers in labor-exporting countries. In
25 September 2019 in Pasay City, Philippines.
The Ministry of Labor implemented the new E-Contract System to prevent trade in visas and contract
substitution or alteration. This system requires the existence of a contract concluded directly between the
recruiter and the job seeker, and a work visa. This will contribute to the fight against human trafficking in
the labor-exporting countries and the receiving countries.
6.
Law No. 17 of 2018 establishing the Workers' Support and Insurance Fund aims to provide the necessary
financial resources to support and secure the workers, including the benefits ordered by the Commission
on Dispute Resolution.
7.
Law No. 15 of 2017 on Domestic Workers,
which for the first time grants rights to domestic workers
following their exclusion from the Labor Code. It determines minimum and maximum age for domestic
workers of
twenty-four
addition to
decides on
both sexes, the maximum number of working hours with breaks, a weekly holiday of at least
consecutive hours, three-week paid annual leave and end of service benefits. This is in
the Law on the Establishment of the Commission on Settlement of Labor Disputes, which
the dispute within three weeks of the first hearing; in addition to the draft law establishing tne
Workers' Support Fund in case of insolvency of enterprises or refusal by employers to pay for benefits.
“Raymond Carl Dela Cruz, One-stop Qatar Visa Center launched in Pasay, PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY, 25 September 2019, available at https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1081431 (lost accessed 13 January 2020).
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