Qatar rejects Amnesty’s report on labour reforms

Tribune News Network Doha Qatar has rejected Amnesty’s assertion that its labour reforms have not translated into changes on the ground for hundreds of tho...

Tribune News NetworkDohaQatar has rejected Amnesty’s assertion that its labour reforms have not translated into changes on the ground for hundreds of thousands of migrant workers.The Ministry of Labour’s statement comes in response to Amnesty’s “Reality Check 2021: A Year to the 2022 World Cup” report.“Amnesty fails to document a single story from among the 242,870 workers who have successfully changed jobs since barriers were removed in September 2020, or from the more than 400,000 workers who have directly benefitted from the new minimum wage through salary increases and other financial incentives,” the ministry said.Since exit permits were removed in 2018, hundreds of thousands of workers have left Qatar and returned without permission from their employer; improvements to the Wage Protection System now protect more than 96 percent of eligible workers from wage abuse; new visa centres in labour-sending countries have significantly reduced exploitative practices before workers arrive in Qatar; and new rules extend the ban on summer working to minimise the effects of heat stress, it said.“Qatar has also strengthened its enforcement measures to safeguard workers and prosecute employers who fail to comply with the law. The number of inspectors employed by the Ministry of Labour has increased year on year, as has their capacity to thoroughly investigate working conditions and refer violators for sentencing in the labour courts.”In the first half of 2021, the ministry said 35,280 accommodation and worksite inspections were carried out and 13,724 penalties were issued to violating companies, including worksite closures, fines and prison sentences. A further 4,840 site visits were made by labour inspectors to raise awareness of the new laws among employers and employees, it added.“Every year, more companies are held accountable for violating the law. Systemic reform is a long-term process and shifting the behaviour of every company takes time. Through its actions, the government is sending a strong message to companies that violations will not be tolerated.”