Qatar directs 80% private sector employees to start working remotely from tomorrow; rest to work lesser hours

His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, chaired the meeting held by the Council of Ministers this afternoon through video conferencing.

Some important points:
1)    80 percent private sector employees to work from home
2)    Rest will work from 7am to 1pm
3)    Stop home cleaning services
4)    Reduce number of workers transported to half the capacity of the bus

Following the meeting, the Minister of Justice and Acting Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs HE Dr.Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi issued the following statement:

At the beginning of the meeting, the Cabinet heard the explanation given by HE the Minister of Public Health on the latest developments to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Cabinet affirmed the continuation of the precautionary measures taken to combat this epidemic, and to complement the decisions and actions previously taken,

The full cabinet decisions are:

First: Extending the decision of the Council of Ministers issued at its regular meeting (12) for the year 2020, held on 3/18/2020, according to which it was decided, among other things, to reduce the number of employees present at the workplace in government agencies.

Second: Reducing the number of workers present in the workplace in the private sector to 20% of the total number of workers in each agency, and 80% of the rest of the workers start their work remotely from their homes.

Third:

1 – The working hours for employees and workers at their workplace in the government and private sectors will be six working hours per day, starting from seven in the morning until one in the afternoon.
2 – The food stores, pharmacies, and restaurants that do delivery orders are excluded from this decision. The Ministry of Trade and Industry, in coordination with the concerned authorities, shall determine other necessary activities exempted from this decision.
3 – All meetings held for employees and workers in government and private sectors shall be made using modern technical means, and in the event this is not possible, and in cases of necessity, the meeting shall be held by no more than 5 persons, taking into account the preventive measures determined by the Ministry of Public Health.

Fourth:

1- Temporary stopping of home services system provided by cleaning and hospitality companies.
2- Reducing the number of workers who are transported by buses to half the capacity of the bus, taking precautionary measures.
3 – The Ministry of Trade and Industry continues to intensify inspection procedures for food and food outlets to ensure that they comply with health requirements and preventive and precautionary measures and measures, including leaving the safe distance between shoppers.

Fifth – The following are excluded from the decisions referred to in items (First), and (Third / Items 1 and 3):
1 – Military
2- Security sector
3- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic missions
4- Health sector
5- Oil and gas sector
6 – Employees of government agencies whose nature of their work requires their presence, according to what is decided by the head of the competent authority
7 – Workers in major state projects.

Sixth – These decisions are effective from Thursday 2/4/2020 for a period of two weeks. During this period, the situation will be evaluated to take the appropriate decision.

Seventh – The competent authorities – each within its competence – take the necessary measures to implement these decisions.
After that, the Council considered the topics on the agenda as follows:

First – approval of:
A – A draft decision of the Minister of Trade and Industry on terms and conditions of registration in the list of major suppliers, and the list of registered merchants dealing in strategic goods.
B – A draft decision of the Minister of Trade and Industry to define the list of strategic goods.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry has prepared the two projects referred to in the framework of issuing the necessary decisions to activate the provisions of Decree Law No. (24) for the year 2019 to organize and manage the strategic stock of food and consumer goods.
Second – The Cabinet reviewed the following two topics and took the appropriate decision:
1 – The study prepared by the Permanent Population Committee regarding a report on the state of the population of the State of Qatar 2019, in the light of the views and observations made on that report.
2 – A letter by His Excellency the Minister of Trade and Industry on the results of the fifth session of the Qatari-Kazakhstan Joint Higher Committee