Pic: Baher A/The Peninsula
By Mohammed Osman
DOHA: Dar Al Sharq Group yesterday held its annual Labour Welfare Conference under the theme, Peak of Reforms, at St Regis Hotel.
The conference which is being held for the third year in a row coincided with International Workers Day. It was attended by Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Dar Al Sharq Group, along with Vice-Chairman of Qatar Chamber Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Towar Al Kuwari, Abdul Latif Al Mahmoud, CEO of Dar Al Sharq Group, diplomats and representatives of government institutions.
Speaking at the opening session, Jaber Al Harami, Deputy CEO, Dar Al Sharq and Editor-in-Chief of Al Sharq newspaper, pointed out that the theme of this year’s conference reflects the significant measure taken by the government to enhance the welfare of workers through laws and decisions related to expatriate workers. The conference shed light on companies complying with labour care standards which is highly required to strengthen government’s efforts to improve protection of workers’ rights, Al Harami said.
Yasser Al Jamal, Chairman of the Technical Office for Projects at the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, who delivered a speech on behalf of Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary-General of the committee, pointed out that the labour care standards are being implemented in all 2022 FIFA World Cup projects under a strict monitoring system.
Qatar is aware of the importance of protecting workers’ rights considering them as major partners in the development process. Al Jamal underlined that the rapid growth of expatriate workers within a short time has created several challenges related to control of labour market, providing services and suitable housing and imposing a necessary monitoring system over companies to make them respect workers’ rights.
He added that no one could deny the efforts carried out by the government over the past years to enhance worker’s rights. No doubt that Qatar being the first Arab and Muslim country to host the World Cup will face many challenges “but we managed to gain recognition of the most important human rights organizations in the world for the efforts being carried out by the committee,” Al Jamal stressed.
Al Kuwari, who delivered a speech on behalf of Sheikh Khalifa bin Jasem Al Thanim Chairman of Qatar Chamber, said all laws and amendments made in the legislations during the past three years have created balance between workers and employers protecting the rights of the two sides.
He pointed out that there is need for coordination between all bodies concerned to resist the unfair allegations against Qatar and highlight the efforts being carried by the government.
Abdullah Al Mehshadi, CEO of Msheireb Real Estate Company, said that Qatar has exerted significant efforts to protect the workers’ rights according to international laws and conventions. The committee responsible for labour welfare awards 2015 honoured representatives of five entities during the opening ceremony. The awards included; Best personality on labour welfare, Best company, Best civil society organization, Best initiative for labour welfare and Best expatriate community.
The award for best personality was granted to prominent Qatari Lawyer Sheikh Thani bin Ali bin Saud Al Thani, for his initiatives to support workers advocating their rights in courts and other cases in collaboration with Qatar National Human Right Committee (NHRC) and other government institutions.
The award for the best company went to Qatar Rail which has more than 40,000 workers. Qatar Charity was chosen the best civil society organisation, for its numerous of labour care programs benefiting thousands of workers.
Barwa real estate company was also honoured for its Barwa labour city which is considered a model facility in terms of worker’s comfort, security and safety.
The best community award went to the Filipino community for its outstanding performance compared to ten other expatriate communities.
The conference featured discussions and the launch of Dar Al Sharq’s Book on workers’ rights.The Peninsula
