An ITF delegation, led by ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton, visited Qatar last week to hold discussions with top officials to set a framework for the implementation of the common objectives, agreed by both sides at a previous meeting held in London on 4 October last year; see coverage of this meeting.
The ITF delegation met with HE Mr. Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti, Minister of Transport; HE Mr. Issa bin Saad Al-Jafali Al-Nuaimi, Minister of Administrative Development - Labour and Social Affairs (ADLSA); Mr. Fernando Casadevall, Qatar Airways’ Chief Human Resources Officer; Saleh bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Director General of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Houtan Homayounpour, responsible of the ILO office in Doha.
The ITF delegates welcomed the Ministers’ commitment to the ILO technical cooperation programme (TCP), under which the ILO and the Government of Qatar agreed to work together to strengthen national regulations and practices. They also agreed to work together to strengthen the capacities of the government, employers, and workers to realise fundamental principles and rights at work, in line with international labour standards. Under the TCP, the government of Qatar will promote a speedy process to resolve individual grievance procedures and will regulate the creation of joint labour committees at company level, among other measures.
After the meetings, Stephen Cotton declared: “We believe that accelerating our cooperation with the aim of reaching an agreement will provide a clear message to the regional and global community that the Government of Qatar is fully committed to the TCP and workers’ rights generally. With the government’s support, and under the umbrella of the ILO TCP, I am certain that we can develop a road map to be launched in the next few months for the full protection of labour and social rights of all transport workers in Qatar.”
