An agreement between the BiH Council of Ministers and the Government of Qatar will sign an agreement soon on the regulation of employment of BiH citizens in Qatar, where a large number of hoteliers and other workers from BiH would find a job in Qatar, said today the Agency for Labor and Employment in Sarajevo, where a meeting was held with the Qatar delegation.
The Deputy Minister for Civil Affairs of BiH Denisa Maglić-Sarajlić said that the agreement was agreed upon last year and that it was ready for signing since last year.
“What we have confirmed during this visit is that there are no obstacles or confusion for the signing. The Qatar side informed us that the text of the agreement that was initialed was valid, acceptable, and as far as they are concerned, they would let us know as soon as possible to determine the date of the signing’’, added Maglić-Sarajlić.
This is, according to her, the biggest chance for employment of BiH citizens abroad, and our government has to do everything in its power in order to facilitate employment of workers under the very favorable terms offered by Qatar.
The BiH Minister for Civil Affairs Sredoje Nović would be the signatory of the agreement, and now it is just a matter of procedure to determine when the signing will take place.
“Their greatest interest is for the World Cup 2022 in football and to build the capacity for the event. Currently, there are 300 BiH citizens employed in Qatar, and they have expressed their interest to significantly increase that number and for BiH to play a larger role in that, and so to have around 800.000 workers. This depends on how many foreigners Qatar intends to employ by 2016’’, added Maglić-Sarajlić.
The reason for the signing of the agreement is to provide protection to BiH workers from adverse situations that they have encountered while seeking employment in different countries. The agreement gives workers this form of protection, in the sense that it protects their rights and their availability and reduces the black market.
“In Qatar employees from BiH are particularly desirable, and I hope that that would be confirmed during the bilateral meetings by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Zlatko Lagumdžija, who is currently in the UAE and will be in Qatar until the end of the week. He is staying there with a business delegation from BiH’’, added Maglić-Sarajlić.
As far as the working conditions and wages in Qatar, the Qatari delegation says that it all depends on the qualifications, experience, and agreement with the employer.
The biggest and constant need is for people to take care of children and the elderly. Also, there are jobs in the area of tourism and hospitality, as well as in medicine. Personnel in construction are also sought after.
The Qatar delegation assessed the talks as successful during their two-day visit to the BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Agency for Labor and Employment, and said that they are ready to sign the agreement. They expressed hope that this is the beginning of cooperation and that people from BiH would soon begin working in Qatar.
