Doha: The Ministry of Labor has taken steps to regulate the activities of agencies that recruit domestic workers from abroad. The ministry has come up with new measures to protect the rights of employers, workers and manpower agencies, including the extension of the probation period to nine months, to regulate recruitment charges and to ensure compliance with recruitment regulations. The Ministry of Labor had recently intensified inspections as part of ensuring that recruitment agencies comply with legal procedures. The ministry had ordered the closure of 11 recruitment agencies and revoked the licenses of one company following the finding of violation.
The ministry also said on social media that the probe also found a manpower company involved in illegal activities such as cleaning and hospitality services. Nasser al-Mannai, head of the recruitment department, said the ministry’s inspection would continue in the coming months without warning. He explained in an interview with Qatar TV that the companies ‘licenses, commercial registrations, municipal licenses and computer cards would also be examined, as well as domestic workers’ residences, living standards, health and safety. Agencies also have the responsibility of recruiting domestic workers from foreign countries. Other business activities are not legal. Al-Mannai explained that several companies were found to be engaged in activities outside of what was allowed.