Qatar enacts employee insurance law

OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS (OFWs) in Qatar will be entitled to employment insurance under a new law passed by that country, the labor department said.
The Department of Labor an Employment (DoLE) said Thursday that Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III received a report from DoLE International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) Director Alice Q. Visperas “about the issuance of the worker’s support and insurance fund law by Qatar’s highest official, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.”
Law No.17 series of 2018 was issued on Oct. 29 establishing a “Worker’s Support and Insurance Fund” for private-sector and domestic workers.
Mr. Bello said: “We welcome the issuance of Law No. 17 series of 2018, by the Amir, as this will guarantee the protection of rights and ensure the welfare of Filipino domestic workers in the Arab state.”
According to DoLE’s Report to Congress for the first half, most of the 230,000 Filipino workers in Qatar are domestic workers.
The new law will pay put benefits according to decisions of dispute resolution committees, including end-of-contract benefits and repatriation costs. — Gillian M. Cortez