MINISTRY GETS STRICT ON LABOUR LAW VIOLATORS

Ministry gets strict on labour law violators
Web posted at: 4/29/2010 2:8:19
Source ::: THE PENINSULA
DOHA: The Ministry of Labour will soon launch a massive crackdown on companies violating the provisions of the Labour Law, according to Al Sharq.

Inspectors from the Ministry will conduct raids at the company premises as well as labour accommodations to check whether they comply with the provisions of the labour law.

The campaign follows the stringent regulations issued by the Ministry recently regarding recruitment of foreign workers.

The drive will focus on vocational health and safety, payment of salaries as well as the issue of run away workers, the paper said.

According to the new regulations, companies applying for work visas are required to provide salary payment records for the previous three months. The salary payment records must be endorsed by the inspection wing of the Department of Labour.

Companies that fail to provide health care facilities and proper accommodation to their workers would face severe penalties during the campaign.

According to the regulations, only four workers can be accommodated in a 4/4 room. Labour accommodations should also have proper sanitation and bathroom facilities. Clean drinking water should be made available at the accommodations.

Every company with more than 500 workers should set up a clinic at the company premises with a qualified and experiences physician besides a nurse. If the companies don’t have their own clinics, they should provide medical insurance to the workers, that allows them to get treatment at clinics or hospitals that offer round-the-clock emergency services.

A pilot project was recently launched by the ministry whereby companies are being asked to forward copies of employees’ salary transfers to banks to check if they are paying their workers in time. This way, a comprehensive database is being developed.

The State Cabinet had earlier set up a committee headed by the Minister of Labor, Dr Sultan bin Hasan Aldhabit Al Dosri, to study the phenomenon of low-income workers escaping their sponsors.

The minister, in turn, appointed a committee to make more strict recruitment rules for private companies.

Labor officials will be visiting projects to assess whether the demand made by a company for workers is genuine and whether it really needs the number of work visas it has actually applied for.