US embassy cable - 05DOHA1701

UNCLAS DOHA 001701 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/RA, DRL, INL, G/TIP, EB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, ETRD, ECON, PREL, QA 
SUBJECT: AMERICAN BUSINESSES IN QATAR EAGER TO DO THEIR 
PART ON LABOR 
 
REF: A. 04 DOHA 1670 
 
     B. 04 DOHA 1739 
     C. DOHA 687 
     D. DOHA 688 
     E. DOHA 858 
     F. DOHA 1132 
 
1. (U) Summary. Post continues its effort to promote labor 
standards and raise awareness of labor issues in Qatar. 
Recent efforts culminated in a presentation by Qatari Labor 
Department officials to the American Business Council of 
Qatar. The presentation highlighted the growing interest and 
concern on the part of American businesses to gain a better 
understanding of the new labor law that came into effect last 
January, as well as the overall labor situation in Qatar. 
End Summary. 
 
2. (U) Previous efforts by Post to reach out to "labor 
stakeholders" focused on government officials (reftel 04 DOHA 
1670), source country embassies and third country nationals 
(reftel DOHA 1132).  More recently, that effort was extended 
to include American businesses. In early spring, Poloff met 
with American business leaders to discuss the new labor code 
(reftel 04 DOHA 1739) that had come into effect and its 
implication for American businesses. Also discussed was the 
overall labor situation in the country (reftels DOHA 687, 
DOHA 688, DOHA 858) and what, if anything, American 
businesses could do to help improve that situation. From 
these discussions it became apparent that while American 
business leaders were cognizant of the new labor code and 
held basic knowledge of the law, they remained unsure about 
their responsibilities and the implications of the many 
provisions for their companies. Further, many expressed a 
desire to learn more about the new law and their obligations 
under it. 
 
3. (U) To reach out more effectively and broadly to American 
businesses, Poloff made the suggestion to Dr. Barclay 
Collins, the president of the American Business Council of 
Qatar (ABCQ), to hold a discussion of the new labor law at 
one of its monthly meetings.  Poloff also offered to speak 
with Khaled Al Sulaiti, the director of the Labor Department, 
and invite him to make a presentation to the ABCQ. The 
president was very eager to have a representative from the 
Labor Department address the ABCQ. 
 
4. (U) On September 28, the director of the Labor Department 
and another official from the employment division were the 
featured speakers of the first ABCQ meeting of the season. 
The meeting was well attended and included representatives 
from diverse sectors. The presentation provided a review of 
the new labor code and its provisions. There were numerous 
questions following the presentation. The questions ranged 
from the very basic to more complex ones regarding worker 
contracts and compensation. 
 
5. (U) While the questions raised demonstrated that there is 
still some ignorance and confusion about the myriad 
provisions of the new labor code, the participants were 
clearly cognizant of the growing importance of the labor 
issue in the country. Further, the interest and attentiveness 
of the participants indicated a broader concern with ensuring 
that their companies were, at a minimum, in compliance with 
the new regulations. Overall, American businesses appear 
keen, not only to comply with the new labor codes, but also 
to do their part in improving the labor situation in Qatar. 
Finally, the presentation laid the foundation for further 
contact between American businesses and Labor Department 
officials. Both the ABCQ and Labor Department officials 
appeared enthusiastic on following up on this meeting. 
 
6. (U) Comment. Labor remains a serious issue in Qatar. 
Indeed, it is rare lately to pick up a local daily paper and 
not find some mention of an incident involving laborers or 
initiatives being undertaken by source country embassies on 
behalf of their nationals. While the increased reporting does 
not necessarily correlate to a growing labor crisis in Qatar, 
it does demonstrate an increased willingness to talk about 
labor issues and problems in the country, especially in the 
aftermath of the new labor law. Also promising is that the 
increased "labor discourse" is not limited to the media. Post 
will continue to engage government officials, foreign 
embassies as well as business representatives on this 
critical issue. End Comment. 
UNTERMEYER