Change in sponsorship law ‘soon’
Change in sponsorship law ‘soon’
March 31, 2014 - 4:43:04 am
DOHA: The much-anticipated amendments in the sponsorship law are expected to be issued soon.
The amendment will include provisions allowing transfer of sponsorship, Al Arab daily reported yesterday, quoting informed sources.
The paper has linked the information with what the Foreign Minister H E Dr Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah said in Germany on Friday, about steps being taken by Qatar to improve the living conditions of foreign workers. In October last year, chairman of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) Dr Ali bin Simaikh Al Merri had said that the government was about to receive recommendations of the special committee set up by the State Cabinet to study the sponsorship issue.
An European Parliament delegation said in Doha last week that they had been informed about a forthcoming change in the sponsorship system. He said Qatar had assigned an international company to study the situation of workers in Qatar and this was not to promote the image of Qatar “but is part of a strategy to improve the living condition of workers.”
“When we are doing this we are implementing our constitution,” said the Foreign Minister.
He said a report will be published soon on these issues and a lot of people will be happy about the content of the report. It will correct the misapprehensions about Qatar and if there are any mistakes they will be corrected, he added. The Al Arab report generated mixed reactions among citizens on social networking sites.
A commentator proposed to set up a state-backed company to recruit domestic workers saying this company can contribute in solving the problems between the sponsors and runaway workers.
“If they bring these workers under the sponsorship of the company, then we don’t have a problem with the sponsorship law. But the problem now is that the law favours the employees at the expense of the employer,” read the comment. “Domestic workers come here to improve their life and we are giving them only QR800 as monthly salary and force them to live in portacabins. How can you force a worker to stay with you if other employers are ready to offer better pay and perks,” asked another. the peninsula
