The conditions of labour camps in the country and its improvement were the subject of discussion in a recent sitting by Central Municipal Council members, reports an Arabic daily.

Ahmed Asheeb, CMC member from Um Salal said: “Labour camps have several problems, they don’t fulfil basic needs and lack safety measures.”

He further said: “They don’t have proper places to buy day to day commodities. There should be shopping facilities as it’s difficult for them to walk long distance, especially in the hot weather.” Asheeb also stressed the need for a security guard at the camps to keep an account of visitors to the premises to avoid people such as run a way labourers entering the place.

Mohamed Zafer Al Hajri, another CMC member said the need to improve living conditions of labourers should be given priority as their numbers are likely to increase in the future.

“Number of migrant labourers will increase in the country due to the development projects. It is necessary to provide them facilities to meet with their needs. So they can live a good life and contribute more to their work,” he said.

He specified that turning the farms into labour camps in some areas has made the life of labourers more difficult.

“Turning farms to labour camps is a problem. Even if they do it, they must look into the facilities and safety of the inmates,” Al Hajiri said.

However, some argue that farms are turned into labour camps due to high rent in some areas. Saqar Al Mohannadi, CMC member from Al Khor said: “The rents are so high for setting up camps, so some companies go for cheaper places. But it is their responsibility to provide proper accommodation to their staff.”

“Many labour accommodations lack enough space and some have used wood and others inflammable materials.”

Al Mohannadi also said, facilities such as play grounds and parks should be built for migrant workers.