The Shura Council State of Qatar

 The Shura Council held its regular weekly meeting at Tamim bin Hamad Hall on Monday, under the chairpersonship of HE Speaker of the Council Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim.

The council took note of the report of the Internal and External Affairs Committee regarding the public discussion request submitted by several of Their Excellencies members of the Council pertaining to the procedures for the departure of domestic workers from the country.

HE the Speaker of the Shura Council highlighted the decision of referring the aforementioned discussion request to the committee for further examination, noting that the council had previously discussed the topic of reorganizing domestic workers recruitment offices and submitted it to the Committee on Services and Public Facilities, which discussed it further and submitted its report to the council.

HE the Speaker of the Shura Council stated that due to the nexus between the two topics, the council decided to refer the committee's opinion regarding domestic workers recruitment agencies to the Internal and External Affairs Committee for further perusal, simultaneously with the examination of the topic of workers' departure.

After thoroughly discussing the report of the Councils Internal and External Affairs Committee and sharing perspectives on the topic of the domestic workers' departure measures, the Council decided to submit a motion of desire to the esteemed government.

The motion of desire included the Council's viewpoints and an array of measures that would compel domestic workers to submit leave or final departure through the 'Metrash' application to the employer within a minimum of five working days, to obtain the necessary approval for their request, as they are not permitted to leave without obtaining prior approval, and domestic workers are entitled to appeal to the relevant authorities in case the mentioned request is not approved.

The proposal included a call for the necessity of coordination among the state competent authorities regarding the registration of escape cases for domestic workers during the validity of their employment contract with the competent authority, whereby transferring their sponsorship to other employers is prohibited.

As to the other matter concerning the reorganization and monitoring of domestic worker recruitment agencies, the Council decided to submit a motion of desire to the esteemed government, underscoring the necessity of amending domestic worker contracts to ensure their responsibility in case of escape and payment of their travel expenses, without obligating the employer to pay those expenses after reporting the escape, because the worker's escape constitutes a clear violation of the contractual relationship between the two sides.

The proposal stipulated that those workers, upon being apprehended or surrendering themselves to the competent authorities, must bear the cost of their return ticket. Alternatively, the individual or company that harbored and employed them illegally would be responsible for their deportation expenses instead of the original employers. Also, the motion of desire called for the establishment of an insurance system to address the financial implications of domestic workers' escape cases.

Additionally, the motion of desire emphasized the importance of increasing penalties against runaway domestic workers and those who provide them shelter and alternative job opportunities, whether individuals or companies. It called for tightening supervision over places that could offer employment to this category, whether in private jobs, hourly work, live-in arrangements, hotels, or restaurants.
During the session, Council endorsed the draft law on job localization in the private sector after reviewing the report from the Council's Financial and Economic Affairs Committee accordingly. Their Excellencies members of the Council discussed the provisions of the draft law. Additionally, the council approved a draft law amending certain provisions of Law No. (24) of 2015, regulating tenders and auctions, following a review of the report by the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee.

The Council endorsed a draft law amending certain provisions of Law No. (25) of 2015 on civil defense after discussing the report of the Internal and External Affairs Committee accordingly.
Afterwards, Council reviewed the report of the Information and Cultural Affairs Committee Regarding the esteemed government's statement on the motion of desire submitted by the council concerning the phenomenon of Qatari teachers refraining from the teaching profession and took the appropriate decision accordingly.
The council also reviewed the esteemed government's statement regarding the motion of desire submitted by the council concerning the utilization of retirees in the labor market and decided to refer it to the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee for further perusal and submission of findings.
Additionally, the Council approved the request to extend the work of the Information and Cultural Affairs Committee to examine the request for public discussion on regulating the production and dissemination of media content on digital platforms.
Upon the conclusion of the session, the Council discussed an array of reports on the participation of its delegations in a number of international parliamentary events.