One of this blog’s most read posts is Unbelievable Conditions – Truth Behind Working for Qatar Airways, each week the post continues to reach new viewers, many of them from the Gulf region. Several of the comments are even from potential applicants or current employees…some very concerned about the potential environment at their new job. Anyway, it seems that Qatar has finally started to slowly improve some of their working conditions, specifically with regards to female employees. At the end of August, The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) announced that:
“Qatar Airways was shamed into relaxing its policy of sacking cabin crew for getting pregnant or marrying in their first five years of employment and that’s a tremendous advance. No amount of hiding behind ‘best airline’ awards has kept the truth about how staff are treated from emerging. We will continue to campaign for further change and respect for workers’ rights. We, along with everyone who works for the airline, hope that they will now address what many of those workers call the ‘climate of fear’ at Qatar Airways. There’s much to be done, but the airline has made one step towards it.”
Qatar said in a statement that the airline had phased out the policy over the last six months – “Our policies have evolved with the airline’s growth”.
Going forward, women who become pregnant will be able to transition to ground jobs. Those who want to get married can do so…after notifying the airline.
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1 comment
The way Qatar airlines treats its female staff is appalling – it defies imagination. I assume however that it is much the same at Emirates and Etihad. To be fair to the airline companies, they are simply reflecting the culture of their nation. As long as we buy Arab oil we turn a blind eye to their feudal treatment of women in Islamic countries. Joining an airline means expanding your horizons. The airlines probably see it as an obligation to the families of their young female employees to ‘guard’ them from the pernicious influence of all the unbelievers in other countries who regrettable comprise most of the world population – that is, the people who buy their tickets….. Perhaps we should think twice next time we decide with which airline we want to make our next internation trip!