Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) is set to sign a major agreement with QDVC, a joint venture between Qatari Diar Real Estate Investments Company and Vinci Construction Grands projects and another one with leading French construction major Vinci this month at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

A global union federation of democratic and free trade unions in the building, wood, building materials, forestry and allied industries, BWI said these agreements cover human rights at work, accommodations, and issues related to fair recruitment and employment rights of workers.

The BWI groups together around 334 trade unions representing around 12 million members in 130 countries. Its headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland. Regional offices and project offices are located in Panama and Malaysia, South Africa, India, Burkina Faso, Chile, Kenya, Russia, Peru and Brazil.

As per the BWI deal, QDVC will be committed to apply the agreement to workers employed by sub-contractors and to use due diligence to ensure that the agreement is respected.

BWI's general secretary Ambet Yuson said these agreements, which complement and build on its productive cooperation with the Steering Committee on Delivery and Legacy, will be a major step towards the full respect of workers’ rights in Qatar.

"We look forward to working with both parties in our ongoing efforts to improve the working and living conditions of migrant construction workers in Qatar. As the test of the agreement indicates, it is founded on the shared belief that all construction workers should be treated with dignity, and live and work in decent and safe conditions," noted Yuson.

The framework agreement commits to following national and international occupational safety and health and safety standards, including on heat stress, health and safety training, and protective equipment.

There are provisions on other conditions, including paying wages according to their employment contract directly into workers' bank accounts, medical and holiday leave, and safe repatriation paid by the company regardless of the reason.

The agreement includes an extensive system of follow-up, reporting, monitoring, inspection, and auditing under the authority of a reference group composed of representatives of the three parties, stated Yuson.

All aspects of the implementation of the agreement will be reviewed by the group, he added.-TradeArabia News Service