17/05/2021
Qatar swiftly intervenes to resolve salary issues after workers' protest - Doha News | Qatar
All workers who have yet to receive their salary or received an amount lower than the
minimum wage threshold are urged to contact the ministry of labour via the Amerni app or
directly to ensure their rights are met, the GCO urged.
“All complaints are recorded and dealt with in the strictest con dence.”
Authorities con rmed concerns by the protesters have now been addressed and resolved by
all parties involved.
Historic labour reforms
Last year, Qatar introduced the region’s rst ever non-discriminatory minimum wage as
part of a major ‘historic labour reform’ programme.
In addition to the minimum monthly basic wage of 1,000 Qatari riyals QR (275 USD), the
new legislation stipulates that employers must pay allowances of at least QR 300 for food
and QR 500 for housing, should employers not provide workers with these directly.
As part of the major labour reform agenda, Qatar has drastically enhanced monitoring
across the board to detect violations, enacting swifter penalties and further strengthening
the capacity of labour inspectors, according to an announcement made by the Government
Communications O
ce (GCO).
Employers who pay their sta
less than the minimum wage will face one-year in jail and a
QR 10,000 ne.
SECURITY GUARDS WORKING FOR A COMPANY IN QATAR
STAGED A PEACEFUL PROTEST ON MONDAY TO DEMAND AN
INCREASE IN THEIR SALARIES, AS PER NEW LABOUR REFORM
LAWS. MORE TO FOLLOW ON HTTPS://T.CO/0GGLY43G1F
PIC.TWITTER.COM/JPG5XVLUGY
— DOHA NEWS (@DOHANEWS) APRIL 28, 2021
Read also: Qatar says labour reforms ‘far from complete’ following Amnesty ‘Reality
Check’ migrant report
In March, the GCO also said that since the reforms and new minimum wage were
announced in September 2020, some 5,252 companies with a total of 222,042 workers have
already updated their payroll systems.
The labour reforms also include the dismantling of the controversial “kafala” or
sponsorship system, becoming the rst country in the region to do so.
Workers are no longer required to obtain an exit permit to leave the country, or a No
Objection Certi cate (NOC) to request permission from former employers to change jobs.
In an exclusive interview with Doha News , senior International Labour Organisation
(ILO) o
cial, Houtan Homayounpour said more work needs to be done to ensure the
protection of workers in Qatar, though authorities should be recognised for the work that
has gone into making these changes.
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