15/09/2020
Moving towards WPS 2.0:: Recent measures taken to strengthen wage protection in Qatar
Moving towards WPS 2.0:
Recent measures taken to strengthen wage protection
in Qatar
Article | 14 September 2020
The challenge of wage protection for migrant workers around the world has been exacerbated
by the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. In June, a global coalition of civil society
organizations and trade unions issued an appeal to governments to establish a transitional
justice mechanism to ensure migrants are able to access their due wages. In May, the
governments of Switzerland and the United Kingdom launched the Call to Action “Remittances
in Crisis: How to Keep them Flowing”, in order to raise awareness on how important
remittances are to hundreds of millions of people.
Since 2015, the Wage Protection System (WPS) has required that all employers covered by the
Labour Law transfer their workers’ wages by bank, in a manner that can be traced by the
Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (ADLSA). Over 1.66 million of
the 1.71 million (or 96 per cent) of the eligible workers are registered in the WPS. This has led to
the more timely payment of wages and enabled a more transparent resolution of wage
disputes.
In 2019, a comprehensive assessment of the WPS was commissioned by ADLSA and the ILO
Project Office in Doha, and carried out by an independent consultant. This was the first review
of the WPS since it was established, and was published online. It put forward recommendations
on how the WPS could better realize its potential in ensuring that the rights and responsibilities
set out in Qatari labour legislation are fulfilled.
The WPS is central to the application and enforcement of the recently announced nondiscriminatory minimum wage, which specifies an amount for basic wage, housing and food
allowance, and will come into force in early 2021.
This note provides an update on the changes that have been adopted in the past year, and what
is already underway – based on the recommendations of the independent assessment. Key
developments include:
https://www.ilo.org/beirut/projects/qatar-office/WCMS_755219/lang--en/index.htm
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