Servile masses, arise, arise!

[qatarperegrine]

Last year a new labor law passed in Qatar and was widely heralded as a step forward in labor relations, but the only thing I knew about it was that it legalized trade unions and strikes (of which Qatar has now had several). But according to this article from The Peninsula, the new law also stipulates an eight-hour workday, with the option of two overtime hours a day (paid at time and a quarter). Already, though, a newer law has been passed that allows more than two overtime hours a day for workers in particular fields: security, janitorial, construction. Way to exploit the already-exploited.

I'm also intrigued to see that end-of-service benefits are now mandatory. My original contract said that if I worked for CMU for 12 months, I would be paid a 13th month of salary. (This is the Qatari version of unemployment benefits.) My new contract does NOT mention this extra month's salary, but apparently I legally have to get it anyway. Yay!

Comments

[materjibrail.livejournal.com]

How much is 5QR? And I imagine this is a sort of basic wage. Do you have any feeling for the standard of living of the working people from other countries in Qatar?
50 days maternity leave. Hmmm.

[qatar.livejournal.com]

QR5 is $1.37. I don't know if that's a basic wage or not, but I think it's about what my boss pays her nanny.

But, of course, it's more complicated than that. Many foreign workers (like us) have their housing provided by their employers, so their salary doesn't have to cover housing costs, which are a hefty share of the cost of living here. The downside of that, naturally, is that not all foreign workers get the luxurious digs we ended up with.

[qatar.livejournal.com]

I found the text (translated, of course) of the actual Qatari labor law.

Articles 73-75 are the relevant ones about working hours, but I'm both dubious about how many employers are following them and concerned about the vagueness of the exceptions in Article 76. (And about the peculiar math in article 73, for that matter.)

Also, I think we're breaking Article 66; I'm being paid in dollars. Shhhh!

As far as I can tell, article 42 subsection 10 outlaws tips as well as bribery. But my favorite article is undoubtedly 86: "A child who has not attained the age of sixteen may not be employed in a work of whatsoever nature and shall not be permitted to enter into any of the place of work." That's harsh!