DOHA: Private companies employing more than 30 workers can set up internal joint-committees, with representation of both the expatriate workers and owners, to redress workers’ woes and settle employer-worker disputes, says the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC).
In its 2014 report, the NHRC said the labour law which covers all private companies permits firms to set up internal dispute resolution panels. These panels, to be called joint-panels because they would have representation of both the workers and owners, can also be mandated to look after workers’ welfare.
As for dispute resolution, such a committee can listen to individual’s grievances as well as those of groups of workers.
The committee would, though, have recommendatory status as it could only make suggestions to a company’s management about how to resolve a dispute or a worker’s grievance, local Arabic daily Al Raya reported yesterday saying it has a copy of the NHRC’s 2014 report.
The labour law does not put the condition that the workers being given representation on a company’s internal dispute resolution panel must be Qataris. They can be expat workers as well, according to NHRC.
The committee must try and settle a dispute amicably, must also work for the cultural development of the workers and launch work-related training programmes for them. The NHRC has also highlighted in its report that foreign workers seeking employment in Qatar must not make any payments to manpower agencies as Qatar’s labour law bars that.
The report talks of restricted summer work timings aimed at protecting workers from high heat and humidity and says that some 15 ministerial decisions have been issued specifying the minimum standards a labour accommodation in Qatar must meet.
About labour complaints in 2014, the NHRC said the maximum number of grievances reported to the labour department were about delayed wage payments, non-payment of arrears and denial of air tickets to workers to travel home during vacations.
The rights body said that making employees work without work permit and neglecting occupational health and safety measures in workplace were the major violations committed by mostly smaller companies. The Committee said it is happy that one of its key recommendations made to the government earlier to ensure that workers are paid their wages online is being implemented.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has, meanwhile, in a notification published in this newspaper yesterday urged all private companies to be ready to comply with the Wage Protection System (WPS) — the mandatory online wage payment mode for blue-collar workers — from November 3.
The Peninsula
