RELO NEWS
Long-awaited changes to Qatar's ‘kafala’ labour law for foreign workers will come into force in December 2016.
The law reforming rules that oversee exit visas and work contracts in the gas-rich Gulf state were published in Qatar's official gazette.
The Arabic-language Al-Sharq reported that the changes will take effect on December 14 2016, 14 months after first being approved.
This is the first time a definitive date has been given for the new laws to come into force.
Qatar’s Social Medical Insurance Scheme (Seha) is set to be extended to expats from next year, according to the local media agency.
The Minister of Public Health, Abdullah bin Khalid Al Qahtani told Qatar News Agency that the extension of health cover to expats is part of the third and last phase of Seha, which will include all resident employees, workers, domestic helpers and visitors.
Labour law changes announced by the Emir of Qatar add a new layer of repression for migrant workers and leave the kafala sponsorship system intact, according to International Trade Union Confederation.
Sharan Burrow, ITUC general secretary, said: “Promises of reform have been used as a smokescreen to draw in companies and governments to do business in Qatar as the Gulf state rolls out massive infrastructure developments to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.”
Qatar will embark on an ambitious plan to build 8,500 km of highways, 200 new bridges and 30 new tunnels over the next five years, said a report, citing the country's transport minister.
The world's top supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Qatar has allocated 95 per cent of its infrastructure investments to road transport, reported the Peninsula, citing the country's transport minister Jassim bin Seif Ahmed Al Sulaiti.
About 50 per cent of the 113-km-long tunnelling work for Doha Metro in Qatar has been completed with the help of 21 tunnel boring machines (TBM), a report said.
Doha Metro project is advancing according to schedule with QR60 billion ($16.47 billion) worth of contracts awarded to nine joint ventures, the The Peninsular Qatar report quoted Abdulla Abdulaziz Al Subaie, managing director of Qatar Rail, the developer of the project, as saying.
