Qatar likely to witness suspicious campaigns: Labour Minister

It is expected that Qatar will witness an increase in suspicious campaigns against it during the coming period, especially with the imminent hosting of FIFA World Cup 2022, HE the Minister of Labour Dr Ali bin Saeed bin Smaikh al-Marri said in Geneva Friday.He was addressing a meeting organised by his ministry with representatives of the regional offices of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), on the sidelines of the 110th session of the International Labour Conference currently being held in Geneva, official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.He explained that these campaigns are misleading and spread allegations that have no basis or validity or relies on any real data. These campaigns target the joint technical cooperation between Qatar and the ILO, HE Dr al-Marri pointed out.The meeting came within the framework of the Ministry of Labour's (MoL) strategy to communicate with international organisations to inform them of the latest developments in the labour sector in Qatar, especially the reforms Qatar has implemented to improve the work environment.During the meeting, HE Dr al-Marri highlighted the latest fundamental reforms in the labour sector in Qatar, noting that the progress made to improve the work environment came as a result of fruitful co-operation with the ILO.The minister stressed the need for more joint efforts between the MoL and the ILO to see the mechanisms for implementing the labour reforms that have been approved, which made Qatar a role model in the development and modernisation of labour legislation.HE Dr al-Marri reiterated that Qatar was and remains open to dialogue with various international organisations to achieve the desired goal within Qatar National Vision 2030, by improving the work environment and continuously developing and updating labour legislation.Qatar values the joint efforts made through partnership with the ILO, which led to real reforms in the country's labour sector, the minister observed.For their part, representatives of the regional offices of the ILO affirmed that Qatar has made great strides in developing legislations and laws in the labour sector, which have directly contributed in improving work environment and conditions for expatriate workers in Qatar.The meeting was attended by ILO's Deputy Director-General for Field Operations & Partnerships Moussa Oumarou, directors of the ILO's regional offices and a number of its senior officials, QNA added. In a statement, the MoL said the meeting was also attended by ILO officials Ruba Jaradat (regional director for Arab States), Chihoko Asada-Miyakawa (assistant director-general and regional director for Asia and the Pacific), Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon (assistant director-general and regional director for Africa), Heinz Koller (regional director of the Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia), Corinne Varga (director of the International Labour Standards Department), Manuela Tomei (director of the Conditions of Work and Employment Programme), Giovanni Di Cola (special adviser, Office of the Deputy Director General) and Max Tuñón (head of the ILO Office in Doha).