Doha: The Employment Standards Office (ESO) of Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), a leading onshore financial and business center in the region, partnered with the International Labor Organization (ILO) Project Office in Qatar to organize a roundtable on promoting decent labor standards in the supply chain through prudent procurement practices.

The roundtable featured speakers from the ILO and QFC who discussed various aspects of the procurement process and highlighted the importance of implementing standard checklists to verify supplier alignment with required labor standards, as well as the best practices and valuable insight on how they to a good and fair working environment in the supply chain.

Speaking about the event, Luigia Ingianni, Commissioner - Employment Standards Office, QFC, said: "Promoting decent work for all is one of the core values of the QFC. By sharing success stories of how the QFC has mainstreamed decent labor standards in the supply chain, we provide tangible examples that other companies from different industries can emulate. The feedback of the roundtable participants emphasises the need to establish a common set of standards for due diligence in procurement processes."

Max Tunon, Head of the ILO-Qatar Project Office, said: "It is encouraging that the QFC and several QFC companies recognize the importance of conducting due diligence in their procurement processes. By valuing decent working conditions in the award of contracts to suppliers, and monitoring these conditions, companies can help to raise standards among workers who may be more susceptible to labor rights abuses, including security guards, cleaners and others. We believe that this is an important complimentary function to the Governments responsibility in enforcing labor laws."

Nefissa Lakhoua, Technical Officer for Operations at the ILO-Qatar Project Office, added "As more and more businesses rely on sub-contractors, conducting due diligence in the procurement process is a shared responsibility that not only promotes the respect of the Labor Law, but also helps promote a level playing field for sustainable businesses in Qatar. The ILO has tools and stands ready to assist enterprises in this process."

The ILO-Qatar Project Office is cooperating with the Ministry of Labor and other partners in the State of Qatar to enhance the implementation of the Labor Law across industries in the country. This roundtable exemplifies ESO and the QFC's support for this shared undertaking and commitment to the promotion of the UN SDGs and ESG principles and the realization of the Qatar National Vision 2030.

Since its establishment in 2015, the Employment Standards Office of the QFC has been committed to promoting international labor standards across the QFC community through a variety of initiatives aimed to raise awareness on, and foster healthy, safe, sound and balanced working conditions for a competitive and human-centered labor market.

© Dar Al Sharq Press, Printing & Distribution. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).