The Advisory Council yesterday expressed serious apprehensions about several articles in the draft law organising the exit, entry and residence of foreign workers and returned the draft for further study.

The draft law was put to vote after discussion during a regular session of the Council yesterday, and the majority of the members voted against it. The Council’s chairman, Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khulaifi, concluded the discussion on the draft by saying that there was no need to hurry in issuing the law.

The Council also sought to review samples of new job contracts and the procedures for protecting the rights of employers and the needs of citizens and expatriates.

The members urged the bodies concerned at the Ministry of Interior to pay heed to their opinion on the draft law.

The Internal and External Affairs Committee of the Council, which studied the draft law, proposed forwarding its recommendations to the government.

The committee wants continuation of the two-year ban on issuing of a new visa to expatriate workers leaving Qatar after the cancellation of their work visa.

The committee proposed that visas be issued to such workers only with the approval of their former employer, with some exceptions.

The law should force companies recruiting workers from abroad for specific projects to give a commitment that they will send them back after the projects are completed, said the committee.

The law should not allow expatriate workers to change jobs more than twice, the committee said.

If an expatriate worker deliberately creates problems for the employer and does not comply with the contract to force the latter to end the contract or transfer his sponsorship to another employer, he should not be allowed to change jobs even if he runs away, it said.

On the contrary, as compensation, he should be forced to work with the employer for double the period specified in the contract. 

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If he has an open contract, he should be allowed to work for another employer only after ten years of work with the first employer. And all this should require approval from the authorities, said the committee.

Companies bringing workers from abroad to work on a project must be obliged to recruit educated and well-trained workers. They would be more effective and would respect the rules and regulations, it said.

Companies implementing government or private projects should be forced to use advanced technology and equipment to speed up work and reduce the number of foreign workers.

Employers recruiting workers from abroad must educate them about Qatari culture and traditions.

The committee said domestic workers should not be included in this law. The draft law includes 50 articles divided into 10 chapters.

An article related to entry and exit of foreign workers says that foreigners should not be allowed to enter or leave the country without a visa from the body concerned and a work visa should not be given unless the person has signed a job contract with the employer.

Airlines, ships or vehicles entering the country should provide a list of their crew and passengers. Hotel mangers and tourism institutions must provide information to the authorities concerned about the people for whom they process visas.

An article related to transfer of employees allows expatriate workers to transfer to another employer after finishing his contract period or after five years of work with the same employer if he has an open contract, with approval from the authorities concerned at the Ministry of Interior.

The Minister of Interior is authorised to transfer a worker to another employer in case of an abuse by the first employer or in public interest.

An article related to repatriation and return of workers stipulates that in case an employee has been dismissed for disciplinary reasons as per the labour law or the law organizing affairs of government employees and he didn’t appeal to a court or his appeal is rejected, he will not be allowed to return to the country until he completes four years after departure.

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