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Tribune News Network
Doha
Qatar has slammed the Human Rights Watch (HRW) for a misleading and inaccurate report about workers’ wages.
In a statement on Monday, the Government Communications Office (GCO) said the Human Rights Watch, in its report published on August 24, intentionally misled readers while doing a disservice to those they claim to be assisting.
“The current report contains repeated inaccuracies around policies and does not reflect the current situation in Qatar. Nearly all individuals who come to Qatar for employment never experience any form of wage abuse. There are a few, isolated, instances where workers experience this issue. These cases have declined as laws and regulations have driven fundamental and lasting change,” the GCO said.
The Human Rights Watch reached out to the government only prior to the publication of the report, it added.
“We never heard about these issues in real time or in any of our engagement with them. If notice had taken place earlier, the government would have worked to address the issues raised by the workers interviewed in the report. A backward-looking annual report does little to address the specific challenges raised by the workers,” the GCO pointed out.
Going forward, it said, the government is available to work collaboratively with Human Rights Watch when they have issues related to “wage abuse or any other employment concern, as we do with other NGOs.”
It said the recommendations put forward in the report by HRW are already being implemented or on track to be implemented. This includes laws that have done away with No-Objection Certificates and the introduction of a minimum wage – the first of its kind in the Middle East.
“Currently, in collaboration with the International Labour Organization, the Wage Protection System and the Workers’ Support and Insurance Fund” are being upgraded, the GCO noted.
The statement said Qatar’s labour programme protects all workers in all stages of their employment cycle.
“The success of our approach is evident in the achievements we have made to date and the positive impact it is having on hundreds of thousands of workers and those dependent on their income,” the GCO said.
Doha
Qatar has slammed the Human Rights Watch (HRW) for a misleading and inaccurate report about workers’ wages.
In a statement on Monday, the Government Communications Office (GCO) said the Human Rights Watch, in its report published on August 24, intentionally misled readers while doing a disservice to those they claim to be assisting.
“The current report contains repeated inaccuracies around policies and does not reflect the current situation in Qatar. Nearly all individuals who come to Qatar for employment never experience any form of wage abuse. There are a few, isolated, instances where workers experience this issue. These cases have declined as laws and regulations have driven fundamental and lasting change,” the GCO said.
The Human Rights Watch reached out to the government only prior to the publication of the report, it added.
“We never heard about these issues in real time or in any of our engagement with them. If notice had taken place earlier, the government would have worked to address the issues raised by the workers interviewed in the report. A backward-looking annual report does little to address the specific challenges raised by the workers,” the GCO pointed out.
Going forward, it said, the government is available to work collaboratively with Human Rights Watch when they have issues related to “wage abuse or any other employment concern, as we do with other NGOs.”
It said the recommendations put forward in the report by HRW are already being implemented or on track to be implemented. This includes laws that have done away with No-Objection Certificates and the introduction of a minimum wage – the first of its kind in the Middle East.
“Currently, in collaboration with the International Labour Organization, the Wage Protection System and the Workers’ Support and Insurance Fund” are being upgraded, the GCO noted.
The statement said Qatar’s labour programme protects all workers in all stages of their employment cycle.
“The success of our approach is evident in the achievements we have made to date and the positive impact it is having on hundreds of thousands of workers and those dependent on their income,” the GCO said.
