Cabinet Holds Regular Weekly Meeting

HE Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani chaired on Wednesday the Cabinet's regular weekly meeting at its Emiri Diwan premises.
After the meeting, HE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud said that the Cabinet reviewed topics on the agenda and took a number of decisions and measures.
The Cabinet approved a draft law amending some provisions of the Labor Law promulgated by Law No. (14) of 2004 and Law No. (13) of 1990 issuing the Civil and Commercial Code of Procedure. The Cabinet decided to refer it to the Advisory Council. The draft law has been prepared in the context of concern for the rights of workers and simplify litigation procedures in labor disputes. 
Under the amendment, one committee or more shall be established within the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs. The committee to be called "Labor Dispute Resolution Committee" will be formed under the chairmanship of a judge of the Court of First Instance chosen by the Supreme Judicial Council, and the membership of two members nominated by the Minister. One of them must be experienced in the field of accounting.
The committee shall be formed by a decision of the Council of Ministers. The decision will determine the rules and procedures to be followed, and the mechanism for implementing its decisions, and it rewards.
The venue of the committee will be determined by a decision of the Minister. The secretariat of the committee will be assumed by one or more employees of the Ministry's staff whose competences and remuneration shall be determined by a decision of the Minister. 
The committee shall have jurisdiction in all individual disputes arising from the application of the provisions of this law or the employment contract. The commission shall decide on the dispute before it within three weeks from the date of the presentation. 
Members of the Committee shall be independent, with no authority over them in their decisions except the law, and no person or entity may intervene in the disputes heard by the committee.
The decisions issued by the committee shall have accelerating implementation, and only the competent department of the Court of Appeal may have the authority to suspend implementation of its decisions.
The Article (6) of the above mentioned Law No. (13) of 1990 and the item (7) of Article (126) of the mentioned Labor Law shall be repealed. Any provision contrary to the provisions of this law shall also be repealed.  
The Cabinet also approved a draft law on the unified economic record. 
The Ministry of Economy and Commerce prepared the draft law in the framework of creating a database at the national level for all economic establishments in the country. 
The draft law identified the unified economic record as the record in which economic establishments and the self-employed persons are registered. The draft law also identified the economic entity as an individual establishment or a company that operates in any of the fields of the economic sector. 
Under the terms of the draft law, en economic record shall be established in the Ministry to register each of the following: 1- Qatari economic establishments and branches, and branches of non-Qatari facilities that are operating in the state. 
2- Persons licensed to practice liberal professions. 
Each entity or person registered in the record shall be issued a number called the "unified economic number" to use it in all dealings and papers relating to his activity. 
The competent department shall determine the mechanism of organizing the record it procedures. An electronic system can be used to regulate the record. 
Meanwhile, the Cabinet approved a draft decision by the Minister of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs issuing a guide description, classification and organization of public jobs. 
The Cabinet also approved the following: 1- A draft maritime transport agreement between the Government of the State of Qatar and the Government of the Republic of Tunisia. 
2- A draft air services agreement between the Government of the State of Qatar and the Government of the Republic of Panama. 
3- A draft memorandum of understanding to establish a joint ministerial committee for economic, trade and technical cooperation between the Government of the State of Qatar and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 
4- A draft memorandum of understanding between the Government of the State of Qatar and the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan on cooperation in the tourism sector. 
5- A draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of financial intelligence exchange between the Financial Information Unit in the State of Qatar and the Financial Intelligence Agency in Bermuda. 
The Cabinet reviewed a letter by Chairman of the Tax Appeal Committee at the Ministry of Finance on the report on the work of the Committee for the period from 1/7 to 31/12/2016, and took the appropriate decision. 
The Committee, established in the Ministry of Finance under the chairmanship of a judge of the Court of Appeals and the membership of representatives from the concerned authorities, is specialized to adjudicate in complaints submitted by the taxpayers, and raises their periodic reports to the Cabinet with the number of complaints brought to their attention, their types and causes, and its decisions and recommendations in this regard. 
During the above mentioned period, the committee held (6) meetings, examined (17) grievance, and issued (18) decisions.

Source: QNA