(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Minister for Labour and Excise of the government of southern Indian state of Kerala, T P Ramakrishnan, has praised the achievements made by Qatar at the institutional and legislative levels to protect and safeguard expatriate workers' rights, noting that 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, the minister said that a substantial portion of Indian labour force in Qatar is from the state of Kerala, praising the care given to them by Qatari officials who are keen to solve all labour problems, quickly and fairly. He noted that the problems facing the workers are negligible in relation to the total number of Indian expatriates in Qatar, and they are quickly addressed.
Minister Ramakrishnan 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 labour dispute settlement committee's decision. The fund safeguards workers' rights in the event of bankruptcy of their company and provides other procedures and laws that take care of their rights.
Ramakrishnan valued the role of the labour 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 Qatar to resolve labour problems by friendly means.
He stressed the importance of awareness-raising campaigns carried out by relevant institutions in 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 Qatar trained workforce, particularly in medical, engineering and domestic fields besides other sectors.
He further stated that his meetings with Qatari officials reflected the common desire to push forward bilateral co-operation between his country and Qatar to a broader prospect.
He said that both countries seek to advance co-operation in various fields, adding that the relations between India and Qatar are excellent and include various aspects of co-operation.
‘Talks with Qatar officials highly satisfying'
By Ramesh Mathew/Staff Reporter
Southern Indian state of Kerala's Minister for Labour and Excise T P Ramakrishnan said yesterday he is highly satisfied with the talks he held with the Qatari labour and health authorities during his two-day visit to Doha.
Speaking to journalists after his discussions with senior officials of the Qatar Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, the visiting dignitary explained that the local authorities responded positively to the suggestions put forward by his team on such issues as recruitment of nurses and other professionals for top institutions in Qatar.
'We are exploring the possibility to sign an MoU to facilitate the recruitment of nurses through Kerala's Overseas Development and Employment Promotion Consultants Ltd (ODEPC) during the meeting of the Indo-Qatar working group, scheduled for August, said Ramakrishnan.
Earlier in the day, accompanied by Indian ambassador P Kumaran, the Kerala Minister met Qatar Minister for Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs HE Dr Issa Saad al-Jafali al-Nuami and other senior officials of his ministry.
While expressing satisfaction at the talks he held with the local authorities, Ramakrishnan said his team members had a close look at how the labour relations and social welfare sections functioned at the Qatari ministry.
The Kerala minister observed that the Qatari authorities were keen to provide as much transparency as possible in the recruitment of nurses from India, notably from Kerala, through such government recruitment agencies as the ODEPC.
'The presence of such a governmental agency would ensure fair selection of qualified personnel without the interference of any recruitment agents at any levels, said Ramakrishnan.
The Kerala minister also informed that the Qatari officials also expressed satisfaction at the successful efforts made by government of Kerala last month in fully tackling the outbreak and spreading of Nipah virus in Perambra and suburbs of Kozhikode district. He wondered if there is any other place in the world where such a hazardous and disastrous virus attack was effectively controlled as Kerala has done. 'We consider this lauding of our achievement by Qatari officials as a big recognition to the efforts made by Kerala's health sector, he said.
When pointed out by some journalists about such issues as non-payment of salaries by some employers for months, Ramakrishnan said his interaction with representatives of one of such aggrieved groups of workers on Wednesday found they did not approach any officials or local offices to solve the issue. Ramakrishnan said the Indian embassy has been alerted and the ambassador has been closely monitoring the issue and a solution would soon be found.
Replying to another query, Ramakrishnan said he made an appeal to the local labour authorities to consider forming a grievance cell consisting of Keralites in their department in view of substantially large number of Keralite expatriates in the country.
The Kerala minister also pointed out that his discussions with the Kuwait health officials a couple of days ago too were encouraging. The minister and his team came to Qatar after a two-day visit in Kuwait.
Also present at the meeting were ODEPC managing director Sreeram Venkitraman, Norka Roots vice chairman C K Menon, Behzad Corporation director J K Menon, Pravasi Welfare Board member K K Sankaran, ODEPC deputy general manager S S Saju and the Minister's additional private secretary Deepu S Nair.
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