Arab conference praises labour reforms in Qatar

Officials at the conference.

The final statement of the 48th session of Arab Labour conference praised the reforms implemented by Qatar in order to protect and improve the conditions of workers and guarantee their rights, and valued in a related context the legislative and technological development in this regard. The participants also appreciated the efforts made by Qatar over the past years to improve the conditions of workers by adopting a series of laws, regulations and legislations that protect them and achieve a balance between the parties of production. HE the Minister of Labour Dr Ali bin Saeed al-Marri headed Qatar’s delegation to the conference which also affirmed that organising the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is a source of pride for the entire Arab world, wishing success to Qatar in this global sporting event. Director-General of the Arab Labour Organisation (ALO) Fayez al-Mutairi congratulated Qatar on hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and congratulated Egypt for hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27 next November. He also thanked the participating delegations for renewing their confidence in him for another term as director-general of the conference. In its final statement, the conference recommended the development of digital strategies in the Arab world through the creation of an infrastructure that matches digital transformations, the creation of professional training on digital jobs, as well as the creation of scientific research institutions that keep pace with accelerated technological developments, the development of marketing policy to keep pace with digital transformation, the formulation of actionable initiatives, the application of an effective system, to improve the quality of production and raise its rates, as well as the adoption of ambitious plans to develop digital talents in the Arab world, to form thinking and creative generations, as well as the provision of training programmes to consolidate the spirit of innovation, thus contributing to the provision of manpower to deal with the modern digital transformation. The statement also recommended the establishment of development programmes, raising the efficiency of the workforce, which contributes to raising capabilities and skills, in line with international changes in the field of technical changes, working to diversify sources of financing, stimulating investment in the field of digital technology, working to ease trade restrictions with respect to goods and services, facilitating the movement of workers between Arab countries, activating joint Arab Labour agreements, as well as attention to cybersecurity, through relying on advanced programmes, and the establishment of emergency response centres, to maintain the confidentiality of information and prevent reliance on it. It also highlighted the need to build advanced economic and digital capabilities that allow continuous assessment to address gaps and errors that may occur during implementation. During the conference, Qatar, represented by Mahmoud Abdullah al-Siddiqi, representative of the Ministry of Labour in Qatar’s Permanent Delegation in Geneva, chaired the work of the technical committee on artificial intelligence and new work patterns, in light of the successful experiences adopted in the field of artificial intelligence and digital transformation, which brought a qualitative leap and significant development in the work environment. In addition, the delegation of the Ministry of Labour participated over the past four days in the meetings of the committees of the Arab Labour conference; Dr Abdullah al-Mohannadi, consultant at the Office of the Assistant Undersecretary for Labor Affairs at the Ministry, was elected as deputy chairperson of the Membership Accreditation Committee.