DOHA: The government has begun evaluating manpower agencies. A joint committee comprising officials from the Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Interior has launched a system to classify the manpower agencies based on a 17-points scale and based on their track record and performance they would be classified into three groups, namely, A, B and C.
Four inspectors from the Ministry of Labour are being tasked to assess the performance of the 193 manpower agencies that are so far registered in the country. These inspectors are required to submit their reports every three months.
There will, however, be a committee that would supervise their work and receive grievances from manpower agencies.
The above decision was taken at a meeting of the joint committee at which representatives of manpower agencies were also present, a local Arabic daily reported yesterday.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of Social Affairs and Acting Labor Minister, H E Abdullah bin Nasir Al Humaidi, Brigadier-General Ahmad Mohammad Al Atiq, Deputy Director of the General Directorate of Borders Passports and Expatriates Affairs, Saad Al Kabi, Head of the Public Relation Department at the Ministry of Labor, and Faris Mohammad Al Kabi, acting head of the department that looks after manpower agencies.
The joint committee also aims to look for new countries for hiring the workforce in a bid to give more options to local employers, mainly households.
Sources hinted that the move to classify manpower agencies would prompt them to reduce their recruitment charges. "An efficient agency will get more points than the costlier one," Faris Mohammad Al Kabi told the daily.
© The Peninsula 2011
