By Mark Baber
June 24 – Long awaited reform of Qatar’s ‘kafala’ sponsorship system, promised by the Qatari government, have hit a significant obstacle as the country’s Advisory Council reportedly voted against adopting the draft law and agreed to send amendments, which would strengthen the rights of employers, back to committee for further study.
Under Qatari law, migrants (who make up over 80% of the population) need to be sponsored by an employer and cannot change job or leave the country without the employer’s permission, leading to a situation widely considered a kind of modern slavery – a situation which lies at the root of concerns over the deaths of construction workers on World Cup-related projects.
In a submission to the International Labour Organisation dated 26 January 2015 the Qatari government promised: “With respect to reform of the kafala system, the Government states that the draft law which relates to the annulment of the kafala system and its replacement by a contract system has been explicitly announced. In addition, the term “employer” replaced the former term used which was “master of work”.
“This required the amendment of some legislative texts so as to allow the transfer of a migrant worker to another employer after the end of his or her labour contract, provided that the maximum duration of the fixed-term contract is five years as specified in section 40 of the Labour Code.
“The draft law also provides for an amendment to the provisions relating to the “release permit” (to be released from employment), which will allow a worker to request a “release permit” from the competent government body without going back to the employer. The Government emphasizes that it is seriously working towards the adoption of this draft law.”
With Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup in the global spotlight with the current allegations of corruption swirling around FIFA, the country’s Advisory Council has, according to a Qatari government publication, “discussed a report by the Internal and External Affairs Committee on regulating the entrance, exits and residency of expatriates. The council decided to return the report to the committee for further study.”
Reports in the Qatari media suggest the draft law being proposed falls well short of the expectations of human rights groups – with the ‘kalafa’ system actually being strengthened in some ways. Doha News quoted Al Raya as saying the new provisions include: “Expats would be allowed to change jobs in Qatar after completing a fixed-term contract or, in the case of open contracts, after five years. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs would have to sign off on the changing of jobs;
“For those who leave the country after their work visa has been cancelled, the provision of having to wait two years before returning for another job would remain in place. With some exceptions, those who want to come back to Qatar would continue to require the permission of their former employer.
“Those who break the law, including the country’s labor legislation, would be banned for four years; and
“Workers who deliberately create problems for their employer and fail to comply with their contracts – forcing a company to terminate their employment – would be penalized by not being allowed to change jobs for double the period specified in their contract, or 10 years for an open contract.”
The amendments which the advisory body wants to be considered are reportedly even more retrograde, with the foreign affairs committee wanting to prohibit an expat from changing jobs more than twice and underlining the right of employers to return workers hired under fixed term contracts once a project is completed.
According to a report in The Peninsular the council proposes that: “If an expatriate worker deliberately creates problems for the employer and does not comply with the contract to force the latter to end the contract or transfer his sponsorship to another employer, he should not be allowed to change jobs even if he runs away, it said.”
“On the contrary, as compensation, he should be forced to work with the employer for double the period specified in the contract.”
The Council’s chairman, Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khulaifi, is reported by Al Sharq to have concluded discussion on the draft law by saying that there was no need to hurry in issuing the law, as it would not come into operation until a year after it was finally published in any case.
Al Khulaifi’s opinion stands in stark opposition to the view of Amnesty International which stated in November 2014 that: “Time has almost run out for Qatar to deliver a World Cup that is not built on exploitation of workers.” With the strength of domestic opposition to reform of the labour laws in Qatar so evident, fuel has been thrown on the fire of efforts to strip Qatar of the World Cup on human rights grounds. A fire that can be expected to flare up again in its full global media ferocity.
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