Qatar Chamber opens employment platform for laid-off private-sector workers

By Muhammad Muneeb Ur Rehman

Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry has launched an online platform for the re-employment of skilled workers in the local market. The initiative aims to help unemployed workers and companies with vacancies to find each other, benefitting the local economy.

In a surprise move that became public knowledge in the late evening of July 5, 2020, Qatar Chamber, in collaboration with the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (MADLSA), made the online platform available to the public.

The site can be accessed via the Chamber’s website, which requires companies to reveal their laid-off employees by completing dedicated forms for each individual.

Those using the site will need to provide supporting documents including Qatar ID and passport copies, a CV and a reference letter.

The decision to develop this platform for the private sector came during a meeting of a joint coordination committee between MADLSA and the Chamber, in the presence of the Assistant Undersecretary for Labour Affairs at MADLSA, Mohamed Hassan Al Obaidli, and Qatar Chamber’s Director-General Saleh bin Hamad Al Sharqi.

In press statements, Saleh Al Sharqi said simply that the platform aims to provide the opportunity for companies “seeking to hire new labourers to contract with the laid-off employees due to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

A recent virtual partnership conference (Source: Qatar Chamber)

He explained that after submitting the application through the platform, it is transferred to MADLSA for review. They will examine the company’s status and ensure that the application is in accordance with the correct procedures and rules.

Qatar Chamber has expressed its eagerness to develop a partnership between the public and the private sector as a way to recover more quickly from the economic impact of the pandemic. In a recent conference, Chamber members from different economic sectors reviewed the legal and organisational aspects of a public-private partnership system.

Have you or someone you know tried using the re-employment platform? Share your experience with us.