byLESLEY WALKER
Qatar’s labor
ministry has named and shamed two local recruitment agencies that have been
closed for flouting the rules on hiring overseas workers.
The companies,
Al-Fadeela and Al-Wafa, have had their operating licenses permanently revoked,
the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor & Social Affairs
(MADSLA) said on QNA.
According to the
ministry, the agencies “violated the fourth paragraph of Article (14) of
the Ministerial Decree No. (8) of 2005 regulating the conditions and procedures
for licensing recruiting workers from abroad for others.”
The two firms were
previously warned to adhere to the agreements they signed with
employers to recruit domestic workers.
However, they
refused to comply, the ministry said in a statement.
Anyone who did
business with the companies should have their contracts checked with the labor
ministry’s recruitment department.
And
financial claims against the two agencies should be reported to the ministry
within three months, the Peninsula added.
‘Name and shame’
Qatar’s labor ministry
conducts periodic spot-checks on agencies to ensure they are complying
with local laws.
With the approval of the minister,
authorities can revoke licenses for firms that are serial
offenders.
Back in mid-2014, the labor ministry said it would start naming and shaming recruitment
firms that repeatedly flout the law.
However, this appears to be one of
the first times it’s actually done this.
Last October, the ministry announced some 15 recruitment
agencies had been shut down for failing to improve, despite repeated
warnings.
The firms were not named. Their
licenses were cancelled for reasons including multiple complaints
filed against them, violation of the state’s labor law and failure to
correct mistakes after being issued with an official warning, the ministry’s
recruitment manager Fawaz Mohamed Nasser Al Rayes said at the time.
Meanwhile, last summer, a ministry official said that more
than 800 companies in Qatar had been temporarily blacklisted and were banned
from applying for government contracts or requesting warehouse units as
punishment for breaching the labor law.
Such a ban is generally lifted once an
offending company complies with the law.
Scrutiny intensifies
Recruitment firms in Qatar and those based
in labor-sending countries have faced increased scrutiny in recent years, amid
complaints about exorbitant fees charged to people who wish to
work in Gulf countries.
While the labor law can be enforced to
protect many of those workers being hired, domestic staff are exempt from this
legislation.
Last week, a committee was set up to
oversee the recruitment of household workers.
The panel will
include representatives from the labor ministry, Ministry of Interior, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Qatar Chamber, in addition to officials from
manpower agencies.
It will be tasked
with speeding up the recruitment process, cutting hiring costs and increasing
the notice period for new recruits, the Qatar Tribunereported.
This was in
response to calls locally from employers about rising recruitment costs and
short notice periods, the newspaper said.
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