Manama: Qatar vowed to take legal action against recruitment agencies that fail to settle labour disputes amicably, according to media reports.
The decision is part of a drive to ease procedures for the recruitment of expatriates, said Abdullah Al Muhannadi, the director of recruitments at the labour ministry.
Other measures include publishing the names of the recruitment agencies that have a good track record on the ministry's website and using the short messaging service (SMS) to send notices to applicants for family visas and unskilled workforce.
All companies can henceforth have their recruitment licences renewed online.
"With the introduction of our services and interaction with the public through the internet, there is a remarkable change in the pace of our functioning. We are now able to speedily dispose of the ever growing number of applications," Al Muhannadi was quoted by Qatari daily Gulf Times as saying.
Several procedures for recruitment of workforce and on the minimum salary for a person applying for family visa are being reviewed by the department, he said.
However, Al Muhannadi said that workers recruited for short term projects would not be allowed to apply for change of sponsorship on conclusion of their work.
