Job Discussion Forums

[Blackbear]

Is there any info regarding the CNA-Qatari contract negotiations?
No? Thought so, as the GCC governments hold their cards VERY close to their ....
Just lurking and wondering.

[douglas1969]

[blastermill]

Not really. New private schools opening up to serve the growing population of expats (1.9 million at last count) and the local families who are not happy with the SEC schools and want their kids to have an English language education.

CNAQ recently renegotiated its contract. CCQ is doing well. ABP seems to be coping but QU foundation is floundering.

[battleshipb_b]

Professionals feel underpaid: Mena survey
Monday, 27 May 2013
DOHA: Nearly 62 percent of professionals in Qatar feel they receive lower salary than industry peers, with only five percent stating a high level of satisfaction with their current remuneration, according to the latest Bayt.com and YouGov Salary Survey. The 2013 Bayt.com MENA Salary Survey, conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East�s leading jobsite, and YouGov, a research and consulting organisation, has revealed that only 22 percent of the respondents expect a raise of more than 15 percent in 2013, and eight in 10 believe that the cost of living will continue to increase. A fifth of the survey�s Qatar respondents (21 percent) have been in their current career path for up to three years. A third (33 percent) have spent up to a year with their current employer, while 28 percent have been with them for four to seven years. Four in 10 (38 percent) have one to five people reporting to them, and 40 percent oversee six or more employees. The majority of survey respondents are either midway (37 percent) or fairly senior (32 percent) in their position.

Most Qatar respondents have held either one (24 percent) or two (39 percent) jobs in the past five years. The majority claim that they spend on average between one and three years in a job, though 24 percent held a position for at least six years.The preferred pay structure in Qatar is 100 percent fixed-pay, according to 64 percent, with the more preferable incentives being those that are performance-based (59 percent), or professional training and development courses (40 percent). Holiday allowances or foreign trips (22 percent), and commission for business or revenue generated (19 percent) are also popular.In terms of their current salary, a quarter of Qatar�s respondents (24 percent) receive their basic salary only, while 65 percent receive their basic salary plus benefits. A third (36 percent) stated that 51 percent to 75 percent of their salary package is their basic monthly salary. Additional benefits received from Qatari companies include personal annual air ticket (50 percent), housing allowance (40 percent) and personal medical insurance (39 percent).The majority (57 percent) of Qatar professionals stated medium satisfaction with their current salary, with only five percent claiming high satisfaction.

In 2013, Qatar respondents are torn with regard to receiving a raise; 30 percent expect to receive up to 15 percent and 22 percent expect to receive more than 15 percent, while 23 percent do not expect anything. Regarding cost of living and savings, six in 10 (59 percent) respondents stated that their cost of living increased by more than 15 percent in 2012. They believe this is mostly due to rising food and beverage costs (78 percent), increased rents (72 percent), and education (39 percent). Eight out of 10 (78 percent) believe that the cost of living will continue to rise in 2013. A third (35 percent) of Qatar respondents save up to 15 percent of their monthly personal income, and four in 10 (41 percent) repatriate a meagre15 percent or more of their monthly income. �The results of the 2013 Bayt.com MENA Salary Survey suggest that salaries are not keeping pace with the rising cost of living in Qatar. This is a general trend across the Middle East that companies must begin to address; in doing so, they will be able to contribute to building employee loyalty and satisfaction, and will have the opportunity to reduce the number of employees looking to change jobs within the next year,� said, Suhail Masri, VP of Sales, Bayt.com.
The Peninsula

http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/238768-professionals-feel-underpaid-mena-survey.html

[battleshipb_b]

http://dohanews.co/post/50480165617/10-things-to-know-before-moving-to-qatar

http://dohanews.co/post/48346156217/you-know-youve-lived-in-qatar-too-long-when

[battleshipb_b]

http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/240296-health-cover-for-expats-likely-by-2015.html

http://dohanews.co/post/49349389289/plight-of-two-pro-athletes-in-qatar-puts-kafala-back-in


Health cover for expats likely by 2015

DOHA: The health insurance system is expected to be fully operational by 2015 and expats are to be covered in the last phase of implementation, according to a senior public health official.
Insurance premiums will be required to be paid at the time of issuance or renewal of residence permit (RP) of an expatriate. The insurance system will work in such a way that citizens and expats will have to just produce their Qatari ID (identity) cards to access healthcare services at a designated facility � hospital or clinic. This was disclosed by Dr Faleh Hussain, from the Supreme Council of Health (SCH), in a talk on Qatar Radio�s popular call-in programme, Good Morning, My Beloved Homeland! on Wednesday.
He said studies are to be launched to ensure how best the system could be implemented. Technical studies will soon be conducted to fix premiums for the mandatory medical cover for expats that would include basic health services. A separate study is to be conducted on how the system is to be applied to people visiting Qatar for business, pleasure or to meet relatives and friends. All services provided by government hospitals and other healthcare services will be available via the insurance system.
Premiums will also be decided for additional services that will not be part of the basic coverage, the official said. The free insurance coverage for Qatari citizens will include dental care as well, but implants and advanced surgeries will not be covered. Details such as how the nodal national insurance agency responsible for enforcing and monitoring the system and which insurance providers will be part of it will be announced soon. Premiums for different diseases will also be outlined. The SCH, Dr Hussain hinted, could convene a press conference to make announcements as early as the beginning of next week. He reiterated that the aim of the system is to ensure that everyone in the country has access to basic health services. Besides, it would improve healthcare services in the public and private sectors and make them competitive for the benefit of the people. Work to put the system in place began in 2009 and has taken a while to eventually pass the law.

[battleshipb_b]

[battleshipb_b]

http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/240072-massive-amount-of-food-wasted-.html

Massive amount of food wasted


DOHA: The amount of food wasted in cash-rich Qatar which, ironically, is dependent largely on imports for its food requirements, is massive, according to the National Statistics Office.
The Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA) said in a release yesterday that more than half of the municipal waste generated in the country contains discarded food.
In the oil-rich GCC region as a whole, which is a net importer of food struggling to have food security, it is estimated that one-third of the waste generated consists of discarded food. The QSA issued the release on the eve of the World Environment Day being observed today.
The theme for this year�s World Environment Day is �Think. Eat. Save�, which is an anti-food waste and food loss campaign that encourages you to reduce the �foodprint�. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), every year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted.
This is equivalent to the same amount produced in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, 1 in every 7 people in the world go to bed hungry and more than 20,000 children under the age of 5 die daily from hunger. According to the Qatar Green Building council, more than half the municipal solid waste generated in Qatar is compostable, including leftover food.

[battleshipb_b]

[battleshipb_b]

Cybercrime draft law draws flak
Sunday, 02 June 2013

DOHA: A draft cybercrime law approved by the State Cabinet late last week has kicked up a row, with Qatar�s media freedom watchdog severely criticising it for dealing with issues that concern freedom of expression on the Internet.
Upset over it, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has also raised the issue with the Qatari government, urging a review.
The Director of Doha Centre for Media Freedom (DCMF), Jan Keulen, told a popular local news website, Doha News, cybercrime is a separate issue from freedom of expression on the Internet. �This freedom (of expression) should be guaranteed. I don�t think it�s a good idea to mix the two things. I think those very general provisions and stipulations could be abused.�
�I think any attempt to regulate content on the Internet is bound to fail due to the worldwide nature of the Internet�.

The Washington Post published an Associated Press dispatch from Doha that said Qatar�s government had backed new Internet codes that widen controls over news websites and online commentary after similar clampdowns by other GCC countries. The CPJ has, on the other hand, shot off a communication to the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani, saying the cybercrime draft law approved by the Cabinet would restrict online expression on news websites and social media.
The CPJ urged the Premier to reconsider the draft law. �We ask you to postpone its (the bill or the draft) submission to the Advisory Council and consult media, legal and human rights representatives to ensure that its provisions do not infringe on freedom of expression.�
The CPJ said in its letter to the Premier that countries that throughout the Middle East and beyond look to Qatar as a media leader in recognition of its Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of the press, and in light of Al Jazeera�s ambitious and expanding global reach.

�Qatar should affirm its position as a global leader by ensuring that the cybercrime bill does not impinge on a free and open Internet, which is a necessary condition for the exercise of press freedom and freedom of expression,� added the CPJ. Critics not wanting their names in print due to the sensitivity of the issue, meanwhile, said they were surprised why the draft was not discussed with those concerned before the Cabinet�s approval �Like the draft of the media law this bill should also have been circulated to the parties concerned for their opinion,� a critic said. Keulen said that in its capacity as a media watchdog for Qatar, the DCMF would �very much like to be consulted� on issues related to the law in the future.
To recall, the draft suggests punishment for publishing news, photos, audio or visual recordings on the Internet thereby violating the private and family life of an individual.
The draft goes on to add that such information or audio, video or visuals cannot be published about an individual even if it is true. Such acts are to be treated as slander and libel on the Internet or any other means of information technology, the draft said, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported earlier.
�This is absurd. Does this mean one shouldn�t even talk about well-known figures like actors, political, social and religious leaders on the Internet,� said a critic not wanting his name in print due to the sensitivity of the issue. The issue seems to have angered many in the Qatari community as well, as evidenced from a barrage of tweets. �Can�t we talk about famous people as well? What happens if a famous actor divorces his wife or vice versa? Can�t we talk about it,� wondered a Qatari in remarks to this newspaper.



http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/239617-cybercrime-draft-law-draws-flak.html\

http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/239535-tweeters-meeting-to-discuss-concerns.html

http://dohanews.co/post/46242178040/longtime-editor-defends-journalists-in-qatar


http://dohanews.co/post/48994420788/report-qatari-law-prevents-journalists-from-doing
Awaiting a Modern Press Law in Qatar

[battleshipb_b]

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A05EFDB163EF934A15756C0A9649D8B63