32 laid off Qataris approach human rights panel Tuesday, 07 September 2010 04:57

DOHA: At least 32 Qatari nationals who are from a large group of government employees who were laid off after the new human resource law was enforced last year, have approached the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) demanding their reinstatement.

Although the retrenched employees are receiving their monthly salaries and will continue to be paid until they are provided alternative state jobs, the complainants have said they have been deprived of various allowances such as those they were being paid for transport and telephone while in employment.

The complainants including some women, have claimed that some of the laid-off staff has been told that they are being rehabilitated but their job orders have not yet come.

They have challenged the decision of the government to retrench them and said the move was unjustified because they were qualified and experienced for the jobs. “In whatever government departments we were employed, we were doing our job very well. We have university degrees and our performance was good, so we being targeted in the retrenchment drive was not justified.”

They added in their plea to the NHRC that after they were laid off a number of fresh vacancies arose in the government sector but they were ignored and instead new people were recruited.

“This is against the assurances we were given at the time of being given the marching orders,” says their plea. The Peninsula

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