Hard Labor - Wages in Qatar

You didnt say if it was their pay daily or monthly?

On one hand: No work and let family stave to death

OR

Other hand: Work as builder for any amount of money and family lives because they can eat.

Some countries dont even have jobs. Others forced to work for Blood Diamonds.

Its better than nothing. And its is there decision to work. No one is forcing them to make money.

A 4&1/2 year old thread springs back to life.

Cant Beleive thsi Doha -Chap .. Chill boy .. Again u drag regional BS into this topic.

Who owns the company doesnt matter . Allowing this to happen legally is the prob.

The majority of these companies are run by foreigner’s nationals and Asians.

Too sad to see foreigners with money exploiting and preying on other unforetunate foreigners.

thier are more labours to come even knowing to earn that much.. our company is hiring more..

that means 600 QR wage a month is a good salary for them.. other wise labour population will decrease..

evidently it increases every day..

Was that the monthly sallery chart of the labors and builders from Qatar?That's too poor rate.Will look after for some more updates..

auto insurance companies

And then, even on those rare 2 days off, they are banned from the shopping malls that they built, and aren't even allowed to relax in the country they are contributing to.

Shambolic, disgusting, offensive.

There needs to be some changes in the payroll system of Qatar! We all work way too hard and get paid way too little. Sometimes I think I will never make enough money to cover more than my basic needs.

Here is ...

http://www.qatarliving.com/node/273656

These abuses will continue as long as people from developing nations are willing to "sacrifice" themselves for the betterment of their families and more importantly, as long as their government / embassies allow this to happen..

I hope someone from labour department is reading these things.... and if he not doing anything to change what can you say about him... BIG FERAUN or Father of IBLISH

.

If only i can do something,but nothing...

I have spoken to more than 10 and conducted a self-survey and found out to this 10 people of 3 different nationalities who have promised and signed a contract of high salary but earning almost only half of it were all saying nothing but "WHAT TO DO MY FRIEND"...

                                They don't have any other choice but to take the bread the world been given to them...If there is only one way to this...I don't also know how...how I wish Qatar's power is stronger than what i am expecting.....

                                                              ASTOG.ph

Not only is this present system of sponsorship a form of modern slavery it is also very inefficient. There are thousands of unhappy disgruntled workers who give lousy service and don't care about their kobs because they are stuck. They have no choice.

One of the reasons why Dubai is 1000% more efficient than here is that companies in Dubai can attract the best people and they can only retain them by treating them well.

Qatar will always be a poor cousin to the UAE and other places until this crazy system is revised. This practise is shameful and Qatar should be kicked out of the WTO until they reform this stupid system.

Patriotism cannot be our final spiritual shelter; my refuge is humanity. Tagore, Bengali Poet

It is not a waste of time to talk about and acknowledge a serious problem in Qatar. Only by acknowledging the problem and then acting on it will things ever be changed. It is sad that people need to demonstrate about this - and that the government does very little about protecting workers rights. But however it happens we can make a difference. Public opinion has changed policies all over the world - and Qatar is no different.

Foreign intervention by 'supplier' countries has been attempted but does not work as the contractors will just pick their labourers from somewhere else. There are plenty of poor people in the world willing to risk a great deal to make a little extra for their family. Look at Cambodia - a large proportion of Khmers live on less than US$0.50 per day!

If any Qataris feel as strongly as non-Qataris about this issue I urge you to get on board and help this cause. Your voice is so much louder than ours!

you don't even know how good you have it

Haven't heard of that one.

Standard practice in Kuwait to take away employees' passports.

How about the plan of the Kuwaiti Government, to revise the manner of sponsoring Expatriates. Instead of Sponsoring by their Nationals, the Government itself will be the sole sponsor, instead.

There is no doubt to say that ‘modern slavery’ has been a ‘common’ practice in GCC countries, mainly because of its ‘sponsorship’ rules, which restrict the right of a person for choice. In the current situation people have to work under same sponsor for decades with ‘whatever’ the employer give him. Even though Qatar Labour Law give many benefits to employees, majority of the employees, especially unskilled labours are not benefiting from it, because of the employer’s OWN LAW in the respective company. The poor employees afraid to complain against their company as it will result in losing the job. I hope free movement of employees can reduce major problems of the employees and I pray to happen it soon. Until then, the labour department should conduct surprise checking in almost all private companies and give stringent punishment to the employers who has been doing the ‘slavery’. Many of the cleaning companies and security companies are the main agencies for the modern slavery. In many cases they are paying one quarter of the actual salary they charged with companies….I wish the rich employers follow their religious rules to their employees…You can make any profit, but only after giving the deserved salaries and allowances and living conditions to the employees….otherwise, you will be punished….no doubt…

All over the world the countries have a Minimum Wages Act/Law, atleast all the developed cultured countries.. If Qatar wants to potray itself as a developed nation respecting human values its high time that they act..

The stench of human rights violation cannot be hidden with Billions of investment and Gala Events..

Despite the cost of living life's still popular!

As Himu said its a waste of time talking about the human rights in the middle east. I think if the embassy here should be strict in this matter for their citizens. You can not find a filippino labor working like this. Even now the Indian embassy is strict in house maid visas which the sponsor has to go and sign a contract of 900QR / month. Most of the labors paying a big amount to the agencies and thats why they are not able to go back.

Few people take the risk of complaining to labor dept., there was an establishment where sponsor was not paying overtime to his workers even during public holidays, the workers went to labor and complained but when the sponsor was called for questioning he just simply say "I don't know these labor law", but he lied coz he knew it. So, to make the story short he agree to pay his workers overtime, but later...he terminated them and banned for 2 years.

In many cases, workers signed their contracts from their country w/ a handsome salary, just to find out.. that contract is not valid and end up w/ small salaries. So here, the workers have options to stay and continue working OR go home at his own expenses. And wait... what about the loans he took prior to coming here?

So if you are in this situation, what you will do?

How to pass a complain over the Labor Department here at Qatar?, I think that would be the best way to help them, just like in Dubai a month ago or so, they are revising their labor laws, regarding minimum salary and working time, though because a lot of demonstration were take over the past six months. Since, rally is not advisable neither work stopage, only if the community here work hand in hand to protect one another from slavery things like this will insh'allah will develop for good, not only for one but for the rest of us.

"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies."

--ARISTOTLE

to lump all contractors under one banner, salaries are set between a contractor and a labour supplier, the supplier finds the workers (where from depends upon the government allowed quota) who in turn pay the supplier to come to work (usually from their OWN Country). Is it the fault of the Contractor, who has to complete the work for the minimum cost/ on the grounds that the lowest price gets the job< oris it the Government for not putting set standards and fees in teh ststute books? or is it the labour supplier who screws the workers from his own country? Some workers do pay for the pleasure to come here and work, that is thier choice although in most cases they get screwed by the labour master.

I also note that the labour camps come into question and I must agree that the camps up in the industrial estate are nothing short of a disgrace, which again falls back on the government and certain unscrupolous companies, I have even seen workers livuing in tents, with no washing/toilet/cooking facilities ( but this was okay, as their qatari master rought them food).

I recently visited the New Airport where safety standards on site are as high as I have seen in western countries, (better than most I would say) and the labour camps were clean, comfortable and well managed, proving that it can be done here in Qatar, pity that it is foreigners who are driving the standards here and not the locals!

This is very true king edshel, just look at some private medical centers here, they hired philipino and indian nurses and sell them to a company at QR10000 then pay the nurse w/ QR1500 to Qr1700. I know a philipino nurse having this kind of conditions and out of this salary she spend QR700+ for her food, and other expenses, send money to her family. good for her to save at least QR200/month?

Its a fact that low waged workers salary has been decreasing in qatar. There are even some companies which Pay 450 for 10 hours duty and dont give any over time , on the top of that they deduct the money of akama (RP)fromn workers salary.

Most of the companies in qatar now deduct the RP (akama) fee from workers salary.

Companies want very good masons and carpenters but they will not be ready to pay them more than 650,they require engineer who wishes to come for less than 2000 QR Salary and the story continues.

Even there are workers who have been working with company for last 8 or 10 years and their salary is just 100 QR more than the amount when they were hired.

Not only companies are to be blamed here, but other factors are also there which is making their situation worse.

hmmm...I am well aware it happens everywhere. This is why I said (Yes I know it can happen anywhere, but we are in Qatar, therefore are discussing Qatar).......The thread didn't start off discussing Eastern Europe or any other region, it stated with "wages in Qatar"...thus discussing conditions in Qatar.

Qatar does not "suck" as Scorpio's link suggests.

The fact that the report was published in the Arabic local press is encouraging.

So what, you might say, if no one acts upon this then what's the use?

It has been pointed out that workers' rights are trampled upon in Europe as well.

The trafficking of Eastern European women to Western European countries is well-documented. Isn't that abuse and slavery? And the recent BBC report about Eastern European workers being treated like slaves in the UK. Look it up, I posted it recently.

But I'm more concerned with what happens closer to my front door.

I'm certain we will see a new labor law no too far away from now. Scorpio made a valid point about Qatar being an Islamic country. Islam isn't just about praying 5 times a day and fasting during Ramadan.

But the hypocrisy extends beyond Qatar and beyond this region. Each and every country in the world can be accused of hypocrisy. Are the workers building the new American School in Doha treated any better? Does the fact that it's on foreign soil in a distant foreign land absolve American conscience of responsibility?

I'm citing this as an example and not to start an anti-American tirade.

This is a collective responsibility. There are local laws governing labor rights. It's time for them to be enforced. And it's time for labor-exporting governments to treat their citizen workers abroad as human beings of human, and not just monetary, value.

...plus, this isn't "slavery". This is simply an underdeveloped sense of workers' rights with no voice of activism for the workers. This is a problem in all countries. The voiceless and defenseless are always the ones that suffer...in any culture.

Low wage people are always in danger of being "commoditized" and forgotten. They become part of the landscape as opposed to a valued member of society. Once a person is devalued and dehumanized, they become subject to "Jim Crow" type laws.

Again, I'm organizing a group for this exact issue and using my previous experience in other parts of the world organizing similar efforts. If anyone is interested, please email me and I will notifiy you when I hold the next meeting.

of Islam only that we were born Muslims. If you don't want to follow your religion principles,teachings and morals then have some of the common humanity morals and essential habits. I don't want to start talking about some stories which will let your hair turn into white because their are a lot of ladies here and I don't want to freak any of them out. These stories are simply sad and to one point are so cruel that you will find it hard to believe and start wondering what is going on into this world? That reminds me with Metallica in on song: Are we the people? Some Kind Of Monster? ... I guess he is right we are not some kind of monster, we are the worst ever monsters that you can find on earth.

The fact that slavery/lack of human rights goes on in an Islamic country such as Qatar, just shows how hypocrite this place is. (Yes I know it can happen anywhere, but we are in Qatar, therefore are discussing Qatar.)

King Edshel sadly these people do not care. Do you know how many slave workers deaths are NOT reported...it's disgusting…. I'm thinking the best way to deal with this is to let the press worldwide know how the people who built this country are treated. Human awareness around the globe about this tragic situation may be the way to go. The more people aware, a chance something will be done.

http://www.qatarsucks.com

Refer to my previous post the "the seven wonders of work in Qatar".... (the more you work the less you get)

we gotta do something. These people are not in the need of other people saying how sad and how bad it is. They need someone to help them and do something for them. Some of them come with contracts of 1500 - 2000 and out of that they got 500 or 700 while the rest goes to the pockets of these greedy people [Masters Of Slavery].

When the poor guy come to here, taking money from his friends and family, selling some of his stuff there or even more to pay the people there to let him come here. How can he go back? They force them to work like that with the salaries that they give them because they put them in a situation of, no going no back, don't dream of getting more than this.

Some companies got contracts like security companies with other companies and they got from them 3000 or 3500 and pay the poor guy 800. That what one of them told me, he was so sad and upset with this face and was telling me: man if they pay me 800 and i'm paying like 150 - 200 to call my family every month, what remains for me out of it? 600? What should I do with this? Send money to my family back there? Pay the cost of living here? I did not know what to say, but to tell him to ask god to revenge him from these people. I'm sorry brother but I'm in the same situation and can't do anything :(

To these people who are buying and selling people [to put it in the right form first], do you have families? Do you have wife and children? Are you living here or some where else? Do you know what these words mean? Mercy - God - Kindness - Humans - Working Hours? I guess that you have no idea what am i talking about. Everyone of you is living his own dream, letting people burn in hell is not a problem while he is living in his own heaven.

For a countless number of times, I have wondered how those poor builders make ends meet on such tiny salaries. Unfortunately, I never really did anything about it. Now I would like to take an active role in your initiative and am sure that many more are just as eager as I am to join.

e46, many thanks for this...I'm starting a group to advocate for the "working poor." The working conditions are deplorable, the living conditions are worse, safety is generally ignored, etc. Although a minimum wage would be good, that's not something will occur readily.

However, what CAN occur, is working with international organizations to provide pressure the companies and the governments. It's this type of pressure that must be applied.

In addition, there sympathetic ears in the government...

if people are truly interested in this let me know, as I've already started the governance and mission statement for this.

Double post

Its's abosolutely wasting time and energy if we discuss about worker rights or human rights in middle east. There is no human rights in the middle east. There is no company following the rules of ILO in middle east. It's like joking if someone discuss about human rights in middle east. Every company trying to take maximum from their worker as much as they can. Top level management always forget that root level worker is the central part of an organization.

Iwea - There are no free market forces here - these people come here in good faith to make some money to improve their lives at home - this is less than what their employers offer.

Working 12hrs a day in this heat without days off is against human rights and is bad management. Accidents occur when people are tired, hungry and poorly trained. What are these companies doing to ensure their workforce is adequately managed and ensuring the safety of their staff?

There are laws here to protect people but it is too easy to work around them.

There seems to be very little value for human life here - evident in the way these labourers are treated and the way that people drive.

The main thing I have learnt here - Only believe it when you see it.

It's time for a minimum wage to be set.

I know the price of cement has gone up but these guys' wages are the same. Rents go up all the time.

These workers need to be given legal recourse. They work many hours beyond the stipulated 40-48. No overtime. No medical care although the new law says there must be medical care in every labor camp.

And it's time for their governments to step in and set minimum decency standards. Their governments, and embassies by extension, know exactly what's going on and continue to turn a blind eye and treat them as a source of hard currency.

there's no way to protect them. The problem is that there will alaways be somebody who will work for 500QR because of so much poverty in some closeby regions.

And i'm just wondering, is it also because the employers know that they can control the workers by not giving them exit permits or paying for their tickets home causer i don't think you can save enough money for a plane ticket when earning that little.

And if they complain... they'll just be kicked out and new workers will easily replace them.

It really is horrible and scary!

It goes something like this:

Moses to the 1st born of the Pharoh: "Why dont the slaves get a day in 7 to rest, even the horses get a day to rest?"

The 1st Born: "Slaves draw straws and bricks, the horses the Next Pharoh"

After toiling in the Sun & heat continously for 12 hours 1 day off in 7days is not too much.

I feel it would be better if they work in the night under lights to avoid the heat, but on second thought the contractor might deprive the guys off their sleep & they might end up with only 4-5 hrs sleep, 7 days a week.

what about the market prices? what about offer and demand?

Are they forced to work for this salary?

just thoughts

Hats Off

The modern day proud qatar. A modern country built by slaves.

Chears!!!

Soory for the wrong Spell

Hats Off

The modern day proud qatar. A modern country built by salves.

Chears!!!

ooo said it; How Sad.

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Mahatma Gandhi

i agree with u ooo....it's really sad to see those people working really hard under the heat of the sun, knowing that they're only getting a very low wages...

how sad

i have known 1 factory for abayas in industrial area,tailors Qr.500-600 salary 7-7 working hours no overtime pays.cheers slaaverry exist in doha................

i thought slavery already abolished. How can you expect ppl to work without off days???