US envoy welcomes Qatar labour law reforms

Описание: (18 Oct 2022)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Doha, Qatar - 18 October 2022
1. Close of American flag and US embassy sign
2. Mid of Timmy Davis, US Ambassador to Qatar
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Timmy Davis, US Ambassador to Qatar:
"Obviously labor rights are really important to us. I think the countries have made not just rhetorical change, they've made real change over the years with regard to labor rights. They instituted the first minimum wage law in the region and there was a tribunal to help workers recover lost wages. It's not a perfect system. And when I talk to people at the foreign m  inistry about labor rights and we just had Uzra Zeya, our undersecretary responsible for labor rights here, they talk a lot about human dignity. They talk about what it means to ensure that people can come here, work safely, earn a good wage, change jobs, if that's what they want to do. But they are overhauling a system that has not always been the most worker-friendly."
4. Various cutaways
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Timmy Davis, US Ambassador to Qatar:
"We think that they are trending toward the right place to be on labor rights. But we also think there's a lot of work left to do, right. These reforms are great. Let's make sure you can implement them. And if they're being violated, let's make sure that those who violate the law are prosecuted. And so, to the extent possible, we are offering our experience. We're offering some of our lawyers some training for prosecutors. But we're able to do that because the countries were open to this conversation and open to doing better on labor rights."
6. Mid of Davis speaking, with camera in foreground
7. Various of Davis speaking
STORYLINE:
US Ambassador to Qatar Timmy Davis praised labor law reforms in Qatar and pushed for implementation and better prosecution if such laws are violated.
On Tuesday in Doha, Davis said that Qatar had made "real change" to labor rights in recent years.
"They talk about what it means to ensure that people can come here, work safely, earn a good wage, change jobs if that's what they want to do. But they are overhauling a system that has not always been the most worker-friendly," he said.
Davis acknowledged that there is "a lot of work left to do" on labor rights in Qatar, but open discussions that have been taking place were a move in the right direction, he added.
Qatar has faced intense scrutiny of the physical and contractual conditions for hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who were needed since the FIFA World Cup hosting rights were won 12 years ago.
The country has set up a workers' support fund, which since 2020 has paid $164 million in compensation to more than 36,000 workers from 17 different countries, Human Rights Watch said in August, citing government data.
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