DOHA: The State of Qatar has made many efforts to prevent and punish the crime of human trafficking. It has enacted several laws and signed a number of international agreements in this regard.
According to annual report issued by the National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking, which reviews the major efforts of the State of Qatar to combat human trafficking, the number of labour inspectors increased and reached about 400 inspectors.
The report also notes the various activities carried out by the committee against human trafficking between 2017 and 2018 including courses, seminars and training programmes aimed at various sectors of the State, in order to raise awareness and build national capacities.
In 2017, labour inspectors conducted a number of inspection drives against manpower agencies and issued approximately 3,605 warnings and 1,210 violation reports and various penalties, placing 78 companies on the black list. The Ministry of Administrative Development Labour and Social Affairs, in cooperation with International Labor Organization (ILO), is developing a national labour inspection strategy.
Among the new initiatives in this regard is that the government is assisting workers who wish to terminate their contracts before the expiry of the term, and helping workers in case of abuse by the employer.
“The government helped 10,485 workers despite their employers’ objections to move them to other employers, exceeded 1,784 workers who were transferred in 2016. Also more than 15,646 free tickets were offered for those who wish to back to their countries last year,” the report reveals.
The government launched the Wage Protection System, which required employers to pay workers’ wages electronically and to increase penalties for those violating the Labor Law. The committee has recommended that WPS should cover all companies.
