The Human Rights Watch campaign organisation has been left disappointed by the lack of ambition and scope in proposed labour law reforms announced on Wednesday by representatives of the Qatari government.
Officials from the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs this week unveiled moves to “abolish the sponsorship (kafala) system”, in the words of the government’s official news portal.
Migrant workers in Qatar are in effect bonded to their employers, known as sponsors or “kafeels”, and do not have the right to leave their job or the country without their employer’s permission.
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The proposed changes include allowing employees to leave their jobs and seek new employment at the end of fixed-term contracts, or after five years service if they have signed an indefinite contract. This will involve creating a new exit visa system run by the Ministry of the Interior.
“They say they’ve abolished the kafala system, but what they really mean is that employers will no longer be referred to as ‘kafeels’. If you’re a migrant worker and you still have to work for the employer for five years, there isn’t much difference.”
Nick McGeehan, Human Rights Watch
But HRW’s Qatar researcher Nick McGeehan told CM that the package, which formed the Qatar government’s response to a report it had commissioned from law firm DLA Piper, was “wholly inadequate and tremendously disappointing”.
“The report is a very serious document, reflecting the seriousness of the problem, with 60 recommendations to fix it. The response was cherry-picking a few recommendations without giving a time-frame for implementation.
“They say they’ve abolished the kafala system, but what they really mean is that employers can no longer be referred to as ‘kafeels’. If you’re a migrant worker and you still have to work for the employer for five years, there isn’t much difference.”
Nor will the reforms affect the recruitment agencies that operate in the poor economies sending labour to Nepal, which often charge extortionate “arrangement” fees that put migrant workers into debt.
McGeehan speculated that the one-page announcement was the result of internal differences between reformers and reactionaries within the Qatar state. “I think it reflects the concerns of the business community, or old Qatar, versus the reforming intentions of those who want to push Qatar in the proper direction.”
Other proposals in the reform package, which has still to be supported by the country’s Chamber of Commerce and Advisory (Shura) Council, include:
- increasing the penalties for confiscating a worker’s travel documents;
- distributing a “model contract” that employers must follow in principle when drafting employment agreements;
- requiring wages to be paid electronically;
- enforcing a new accommodation standard for workers’ housing, although no details were provided.
McGeehan added:”The fear is that Qatar has followed the example of the UAE in 2008, and taken a similar cosmetic approach. But it won’t work, because of the World Cup – the attention of the world’s press will be maintained or even increased.”
But he backed the CIOB holding its Members’ Forum and Annual Confernce in Qatar next month, saying:”No one needs more talking shops, but if it’s an attempt to drive things forward and not just an illusion of debate, then it’s a positive thing.”
