(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Doha: The Ministry of Labour organised a symposium entitled“Occupational Safety and Health as a Fundamental Right: Good Practices from Qatar”, in Singapore, on the sidelines of the 17th Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting, yesterday.
The symposium was attended by Minister of Labour H E Dr. Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri and the representatives of the three production parties of the International Labour Organization, from Asia, the Pacific and Arab countries, in addition to representatives of international organizations and civil society.
The symposium is organised within the framework of highlighting the reforms implemented by Qatar in labour sector and the executive mechanisms that have been activated over the past years to improve the work environment in Qatar, in addition to reviewing the most important occupational safety and health measures, including amendments in legislation and the development of regulations in line with the decision to include the right to a safe and healthy work environment within the basic principles and rights at work.
The panel discussion was attended by Zulfiqar Haider, Federal Secretary Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, Head of ILO Project Office for the State of Qatar. Max Tuñón, and Farooq Ahmed – Secretary-General and CEO, Bangladesh Employers' Federation and Shekel Akhtar Chowdhury, representative of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
Participants in the symposium lauded the reforms implemented by Qatar in the labour sector during the past years, especially with regard to the non-discriminatory minimum wage law, the abolition of the sponsorship system (Kafala system), and the measures to protect workers from heat stress during the summer, stressing that these fundamental reforms have led to an improvement in the work environment and ameliorated the conditions of migrant workers.
They made it clear during their speeches at the panel discussion that Qatar was able to organize an exceptional edition of the World Cup at all levels, noting that everyone appreciates the efforts of the State of Qatar in hosting the 2022 World Cup in this distinguished and impressive manner.
H E Dr. Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri stressed that the achievements and continuous efforts implemented by Qatar have contributed to improving the work environment for hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, pointing out that some parties that lack impartiality, turn blind eye to these labour reforms and continue to publish tendentious and misleading reports on occupational injuries in Qatar.
The Minister explained that all these misleading reports will not weaken the determination of the State of Qatar to redouble efforts and move forward with the reform program, especially by continuing to strengthen regional and multilateral cooperation for the benefit of the work environment in Qatar.
He indicated that Qatar has made great strides in the field of occupational health and safety with the aim of enhancing efficiency and achieving sustainable compliance with national and international standards in the field of prevention, noting that the injury registration system has been developed and data assemblage, analysis and dissemination has been improved to enhance transparency.
The Minister noted that Qatar has become one of the advanced countries in the region in the field of protecting workers from heat stress through the new legislation and measures that have been adopted.