Minister for Excise and Labour of the Indian State of Kerala, T P Ramakrishnan (centre), with officials during his visit to the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, yesterday.
DOHA: Minister for Labor and Excise of the southern Indian state of Kerala, T P Ramakrishnan, has praised the achievements made by Qatar in institutional and legislative levels to protect and safeguard expat workers’ rights.
He said that the State of Qatar provides a healthy and safe working environment for recruiting workers.
Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on the sidelines of his visit to Qatar, he said that 60 percent of Indian labor force in Qatar is from the state of Kerala, praising the care given to them by Qatari official who are keen to solve all labor problems, quickly and fairly, noting that the problems facing them are negligible in relation to the total number of Indian workers in the country and they are quickly addressed.
The Minister for Labor and Excise appreciated the recent steps taken by Qatar regarding the inauguration of the Qatari House for Shelter and Humanitarian Care, which will provide assistance, protection and accommodation to temporary workers until they depart the country.
He also hailed Workers’ Support Fund, which offers workers’ financial benefits on the basis of a labor dispute settlement committee’s decision, which provides workers with their rights regardless of the bankruptcy of their company and other procedures and laws that take care of worker’ rights.
Ramakrishnan valued the role of the labor dispute settlement committee, which has recently begun working on resolving problems between workers and employers in a record time, in addition to the measures taken by the State of Qatar to resolve labor problems by friendly means.
He stressed the importance of awareness-raising campaigns carried out by relevant institutions using different languages to inform foreign workers, about their rights and duties and actions needed to protect them. While praising the skilful Indian workers, the Indian Minister said that they are working in different fields and that Kerala is ready to provide the country market needs of trained workforce, particularly in medical, engineering and domestic fields and other sectors.
He further stated that his meetings with Qatari officials reflected the common desire to push forward bilateral cooperation between his country and the state of Qatar to a broader prospect. He added that both countries seek to advance cooperation in various fields, while saying that the relations between India and Qatar are excellent and include various aspects of cooperation.
