No salary cuts for quarantined employees, expats; illegal workers also to get free COVID-19 treatment

Meriam JellitiDohaAll quarantined employees, including expatriates, will receive their full salaries and other benefits without any deduction, a Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (MADLSA) official said in a press conference in Doha on Tuesday.No cuts are allowed. An amount of QR3 billion has been assigned to support companies to pay their employees. All employers are fully responsible and obliged to follow the ministries’ instructions and they have been very cooperative and supportive,” he said.Reiterating Qatar’s stated policy of providing free treatment for all individuals infected with coronavirus, Muhammad Hassan al Obaidly, Assistant undersecretary for Ministry of Labour, said even those working illegally would be treated free of charge.Qatar has launched a new hotline — 9 27 27 — for expatriates to address their queries and complaints related to the coronavirus measures undertaken by the government, he added.The official also said no penalties or fees would be levied from expatriates outside Qatar for renewing their Qatar identity cards (IDs).Speaking of terminated employees who are unable to return home, al Obaidly said that one of the recent procedures is providing a plane ticket for unemployed workers, and we are communicating continuously with other governments for coordination and we will do our best to provide accommodation and all necessities for the unemployed and no worker will be neglected.Currently, we have a fully equipped team in the industrial area, working side-by-side with all ministries and authorities. Workers are well cared for, and we also launched a hotline specific for workers of the industrial area. Qatar charity has also been contributing tremendously, All the procedures we have announced are very simple and easy to implement and practice. “After announcing the closure of exchange houses, we have offered and provided alternative solutions like Bank transferring services, electronics services, and Ooredoo application. And we have urged all companies and employers to raise awareness in order to help workers understand these new procedures and work by them.“ Although we have considered all scenarios we would like to take this opportunity to look forward by working together towards the future and to overcome these hard times together, ensuring the safety of the labor is ensuring the safety of all Qatar” said al Obaidly