From Left: Karim Abdullah, Chairman, Advisory Council, Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF); Sultan Hassan Al Jamali, Assistant Secretary General, NHRC; Mahesh Gowda, General Secretary, ICBF; and Arvind Patil, Former President, ICBF; attending a semin
DOHA: The Qatari laws have sought compliance with international labor standards, and labor legislation continues to improve, said Sultan Hassan Al Jamali, Assistant Secretary General of National Human Rights Committee (NHRC).
He said that the Domestic Workers Law was passed in 2017, and we hope that labor laws will continue to evolve until all international standards met with the availability of mechanisms that ensure the best working conditions.
Al Jamali was speaking at a seminar on Labor and Residence Law for the Indian Community in Qatar yesterday at Doha Hilton Hotel. The seminar was organised by NHRC to educate the representatives of Indian Community so they could pass the information to their fellow citizens specially blue-collar workers in their native language for better understanding. “The right to work is one of the human rights enshrined in many international conventions, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which the State of Qatar recently acceded to,” said Al Jamali.
He said that the Covenant affirmed that work should be based on fair and equitable conditions and that working hours should be reasonable with paid leave, while ensuring occupational safety and health, in addition to ensuring that women enjoy equal conditions of employment.
Explaining key provisions of the Labor Law No. 14 of 2004, Halal Al Ali, legal expert at NHRC said that working hours should not exceed more than 10 hours including extra hour. She said that workers must receive payment for any overtime not less than 25 percent of the basic salary.
Regarding working on weekly off day (Friday), Al Ali said that the worker should be compensated with another off day, or pay 150 percent of the basic salary adding that it is illegal to work on more than two consecutive holidays.
Speaking on the rights of women workers, Al Ali said that it is illegal to end woman contract if her health condition prevents her from reporting back to work after her maternity leave ends, she can get another 60 days as unpaid leave in such case with producing a medical certificate.
