Doha: The Ministry of Labour organised an awareness and training seminar on the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), in cooperation with the Ministry of Transportation, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).
The seminar, which was held yester in Doha, was attended by H E Mohammed Hassan Al Obaidly, MoL’s Assistant Undersecretary for Labour Affairs, Ministry of Transport’s Assistant Undersecretary of Maritime Transport Affairs Dr. Saleh bin Fetais Al Marri , and Corinne Varga the Director of the International Labour Standards Department of the ILO, Max Tuñón, head of the ILO Office in Doha, Bilal Malkawi, Regional Secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation, and Ruwan Subasinghe Legal Director at the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).
The organization of the seminar comes within the framework of strategic cooperation between the State of Qatar and the international trade unions and ITF to introduce the importance of maritime transport and to strike a balance between the interests of both the worker and employer, as a cornerstone that contributes to the stability of transport worldwide.
The seminar discussed the importance of addressing persistent labour issues in the maritime transport sector, especially those revealed during the COVID-19 pandemic and the massive fallout that has stricken the sector and the living conditions of seafarers.
During the dialogue session, Bilal Malkawi, expressed his desire to sign a cooperation agreement with the Maritime Transport Affairs of Qatar’s Ministry of Communications with the aim of enhancing cooperation between the two sides, especially with regard to training and rehabilitation. It is noteworthy that during the State of Qatar chairing the fourth plenary session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in its 110th session, last June, the amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention were approved by majority of the ILC’s General Assembly, which is marked as a momentous historic event for ILO, further improving the work environment for workers in marine sector.
Source: Qatar News Agency
