Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs H E Dr Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi (right) at the 85th session of the Arab Labour Organisation (ALO), which started in Doha, yesterday.
DOHA: The 85th session of the Arab Labour Organisation (ALO), which started here yesterday elected the Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs H E Dr Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi the new Chairman of ALO’s Board of Directors.
The meeting extended its condolences to Qatar on the death of the H H Grandfather Emir Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani.
In his opening speech, the newly elected Chairman H E Dr Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi appreciated the trust given to him by members of the ALO Board and valued their role and efforts in the organisation’s development and its national role at the Arab and international levels.
He pointed out that the meeting is taking place in extremely complicated circumstances, where unemployment rates continued to rise steadily in most Arab countries.
The Minister stressed the need to provide the private sector with a conducive working environment to ensure that it becomes an active partner in achieving balanced development, underling the importance of activating the role of entrepreneurship and small and medium enterprises and improving vocational training.
He also reiterated the ALO’s full support for the Palestinian people in the face of the Israeli atrocities, adding that the meeting will discuss this important issue.
Director-General of the Arab Labour Organisation (ALO) Fayez Al Matiri has appreciated Qatar’s efforts to provide excellent living conditions to the expatriate workforce in the country.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the meeting, Al Matiri said that Qatar government has been implementing the required work standards and specifications in providing suitable environment and accommodation to expatriate workers. The official, who visited several labour camps here said, expert reports indicate that expatriate workers in Qatar are enjoying decent living conditions. Occupational health and safety standards in Qatar are excellent whether at health centres, labour cities or work sites, he added.
He said that Qatar was keen to invite officials from international organisations to visit labour accommodations in the country to show them the facts and to be transparent, in response to accusations by some organisations that Qatar is violating labour rights.
The ALO session is discussing several important issues including the rising unemployment in the Arab world and the proposed solutions, finding mechanisms to support micro and small and medium-sized enterprises, promoting the contribution of the private sector in supporting the work of the ALO, in addition to a review report on the situation of labourers and the people of Palestine in the occupied Arab territories, among others.
Al Matiri, in his speech, said that the complex changes taking place in the Arab world have negatively influenced labour markets in these countries and the fight against unemployment and poverty.
The new migration is not limited to job seeking, but it has been overlapped with mass migration seeking asylum and security. He said ALO has rung the alarm bell several times about the danger of unemployment and its negative impact on peace and security.
He said the agenda of the meeting includes establishment of a committee for freedom of trade unions and another committee for working women. The meeting elected Sheikh Osman Mustafa, who is a Board Member, as vice-chairman representing employers, and Jebali Maraghi, the president of Egypt’s federation of labour unions, as vice-chairman representing labourers.
