Mexico City – Information Office – 30 September
The Embassy of the State of Qatar to the United Mexican States organized a seminar with the aim of highlighting the new developments and reforms related to the labor market in the State of Qatar.
The seminar was attended by Minister of Economic Development in Mexico City Fadlallah Aqbani Hunaidi, Vice President of the Mexican Council of Foreign Trade Jorge Lopez Morton and President of the Arab Mexican Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jamila Touma as well as a number of senior officials, businessmen and figures in Mexican society.
In a speech during the meeting, HE Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Mexico Mohammed bin Jassim Al Kuwari said that the State of Qatar is working hard to achieve the optimal and complete implementation of all these reforms, as the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs coordinates with other ministries to improve the Wages Protection System (WPS) and implement effective measures against violating companies, pointing out that foreign workers enjoy full freedom to change employer or job, without being unfairly tied to an unfavorable contract, which means the end of the sponsorship system.
Based on its belief in justice and equality and in the right of workers and their entitlement to government support and attention, the State of Qatar announced at the end of last August various measures in their favor, most notably ending the sponsorship system (kafala), setting the minimum wage and stopping the No Objection Certificate (NOC), HE Al Kuwari stressed.
The message of the State of Qatar from the reforms that has been made is to affirm its full support for expatriate workers, Al Kuwari said, adding that the measures that have been taken marked the beginning of a new era for the Qatari labor market in the private sector, which includes expatriates.
He pointed out that the State of Qatar has set the minimum wage at about 11,000 pesos (the Mexican local currency), stressing that this salary is among the highest among developing countries, and it exceeds the salaries of the countries of origin for foreign workers in Qatar, allowing additional income for workers' families.
HE Qatar's Ambassador to Mexico expected that the wise decision of the State of Qatar would bring about an additional economic development, represented by the increase of investments in the Qatari economy annually, adding that in the meantime, the government is updating the accounting records for workers and ratifying all work contracts to comply with current laws.
The reforms that have been made will achieve fair competition in the labor market and encourage employers to respect workers' rights, correct failures in labor relations, and increase worker satisfaction, HE Al Kuwari said.
Bilateral relations between Qatar and Mexico are being strengthened and moving forward, he said, pointing out that nations must be united as a vanguard for the benefit of humanity, and their agendas must include the economy and social justice as the main issue.
For his part, HE Minister of Economic Development in Mexico City praised the efforts made by the State of Qatar, represented by its embassy in Mexico, to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. He expressed his aspiration to increase economic exchange in the future, thanks to the wise Qatari leadership and the new laws issued in relation to the labor market.
In turn, the Vice President of the Mexican Council of Foreign Trade and President of the Arab Mexican Chamber of Commerce and Industry referred to the significant increase in trade exchange that can be achieved between the State of Qatar and Mexico in the future, by benefiting from the efforts made by the Qatari government to promote the labor market and workers' rights, in a way that ensures achieving a distinct economic balance between the effective commercial factors.