Law No. 13 of 2017 amending certain provisions of the Labor Code and the Code of Civil and Commercial Procedures, which provides mechanisms for achieving justice and remedies for workers without imposing any material burdens. The law provides for the establishment of one or more committees called the Committee for the Settlement of Labor Disputes headed by a judge of the Court of First Instance chosen by the Supreme Council of the Judiciary and two judges nominated by the Minister of Labor. The Committee decides on disputes within three weeks of the first hearing of the dispute before it, The members of the Committee shall be independent and shall issue their decisions subject to expedited enforceability. The concerned parties may appeal against the decision issued by the Committee before the competent division of the Court of Appeal within fifteen days from the date of issuance of the decision by the committee. The competent division shall examine the appeal promptly and shall adjudicate it within thirty days from the date of the first hearing before it. Continuing to promote the abolition of the sponsorship system since the promulgation of Law No. 21 of 2015 regulating the entry and exit of expatriates and their residence. The sponsorship system has been replaced by the system of contracts between companies and workers. The law was introduced in October 2016. In early 2015, the law of the protection of wages required employers to transfer wages to one of the financial institutions in the state within seven days from its due date. The violators of the system shall be fined between 2000 to 6000 Qatari riyals per worker or sentenced to imprisonment for up to one month, in addition to implementing procedures to stop dealing with the violating company. This was followed by the establishment of the Wage Protection System (WPS) by the Ministry of Labor. WPS, a comprehensive electronic system that monitors and documents employee wage payments, shall be implemented gradually and effectively. The number of workers whose salary was transferred as of April 2017 was 1,371,312 workers. s¢ STA CHR Protocol for OFW Cases Reported via Social Media Intended Users: CHR officers and personnel receiving and handling social media reports on violation of rights of Filipino migrant workers. Objectives: Establish policies and procedures in handling all OFW cases — from initial response, to validation of information, proper referral, and monitoring of development and final resolution of the case. General Guidelines The CHR's officially designated Social Media Case Handlers receive and respond to OFW cases reported through social media in a timely and appropriate manner. The Head of the Strategic Communications Division shall establish benchmarks for timely action on OFW cases. Reports shall be treated as private and confidential, and may be shared only with the authorized officer of the CHR or the concerned government agency, with the consent of the reporting party. The Social Media Case Handler and other officials handling the cases shall apply established rightsbased guidelines in responding to and referring reports. All referrals to concerned agencies shall be documented and monitored. The CHR, in consultation with the concerned government agency, shall establish agreed timelines for the resolution and/or closure of the cases through a terminal report to the CHR. The Social Media Case account of the CHR. D. Handler/s shall respond to the reports only through the Official Social OFW Social Media Case Handler: Duties and Responsibilities OFW Social Media Case Handlers designated by the Executive Director have the following duties and responsibilities: 4. Respond to all OFW cases, information and reports forwarded to CHR social media platforms and other sources, including those enumerated in the next Section E; 2. Prepare a brief report for the CHR Case Officers prompt and appropriate action; and 3. Provide a weekly status report for the affected OFW (to enable her/him to respond to other third party queries). Media