New workers' rights law in Qatar

Qatar will soon issue new legislation to protect the rights of migrant and domestic workers and to curb human trafficking, according to a senior official of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC).

The country's Labour Department has prepared the new law to include the rights of domestic workers in the country who are not covered by the current law, Mohammed Fouad, legal consultant at NHRC told Qatar's Peninsula newspaper.

"There will be a separate law for domestic workers and the draft is ready. The new law is expected to be issued in a few months," Fouad said.

A consultant at the National Office for Combating Human Trafficking said the new law will be based on Qatar's existing constitution and labour legislation, which extensively provides for migrants and workers' protection, Gulf News reported.

"A new law to fight trafficking of workers is under study. It will be among the most advanced legislations in the field," Sadoon Alhyal was quoted as saying.

The move comes after an inter-regional conference on migrant and domestic workers ended in Doha yesterday with a call for Asian and Arab countries to devise new laws to protect workers' rights.

New guidelines proposed included access to health and legal aid, at least one day a week off, and social security covering work-related accidents.

The conference also called for limiting the number of working hours for migrant women, allowing migrant workers to form trade unions and have access to counselling and advice bureaux, the Peninsula report stated.

Migrant workers' host country and country of origin should both address the problem of human trafficking through legislations and the enforcement of national policies, delegates at the conference said.

Over the past few years Qatar has taken several steps to protect the interests of migrant workers, in particular women and children, said NHRC secretary general Dr. Ali Samikh Al-Marri, speaking at the conference.

He also highlighted the importance of bolstering co-operation among nations in the region and internationally to protect the rights of migrant workers.

The two-day meeting included Qatari government officials and representatives of civil society and human rights groups, NGOs and trade unions from several Arab and Asian countries.

It was organised jointly by the International Federation for Human Rights and the National Human Rights Committee of Qatar.

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