Breakthrough to end kafala after new commitments from Qatar on workers’ rights

Qatar's system for migrant workers which meant they were practically the property of the employer (the so-called "Kafala" system) has been dismantled, improving rights for over two million migrant workers, many from India, Nepal but also Africa which are, among other tasks, building the football stadia for the 2022 World Cup. This came after after many years of pressure and organizing, by the WSM partners in India and Nepal (see here, also with support from ACV BIE), gathering testimonies (see publication here), by the International Trade Union Confederation ITUC (here) and from the ILO, where a complaint procedure had been initiated and a high level mission conducted, comprising Luc Cortebeek on behalf of the employees.

The new guidance and commitments made by the Government dismantle the system of kafala, which has trapped millions of migrant workers in Qatar. The six steps include:

1. Employment contracts will be lodged with a government authority to prevent contract substitution, ending the practice of workers arriving in the country only to have their contract torn up and replaced with a different job, often on a lower wage.
2. Employers will no longer be able to stop their employees from leaving the country.
3. A minimum wage will be prescribed as a base rate covering all workers, ending the race-based system of wages.
4. Identification papers will be issued directly by the State of Qatar, and workers will no longer rely on their employer to provide their ID card without which workers can be denied medical treatment.
5. Workers’ committees will be established in each workplace, with workers electing their own representatives.
6. A special disputes resolution committee with a time frame for dealing with grievances will be a centerpiece for ensuring rapid remedy of complaints.

"Our efforts are now also starting to bear fruit" says Andre Kiekens, General Secretary of World Solidarity. "We are particularly pleased that the ILO and the Qatari government have now signed a cooperation agreement for the period 2018-2020. This cooperation will ensure that the new legislation does not remain only on paper. Within this framework, an ILO office will be set up in Qatar that will specifically monitor the implementation of all these legislative changes and assist the government in strengthening their labor inspectorate on the construction sites" he adds. The International Trade Union Confederation also welcomed the breakthrough from the Government of Qatar to end the kafala system of modern slavery. “These initiatives have the support of the ITUC, and we hope that implementation will be also supported by the ILO with its technical expertise. Much remains to be done, but these steps open the way for workers to be treated with dignity and for their lives and livelihoods to be protected,” Sharan Burrow commented here.

Following this,  the ILO Governing Body decided to close the official complaint that was launched against the Government of Qatar, considering the various policy measures that were taken by the Government in the last few years (decision here).  The ILO and the Qatari Government have concluded a cooperation agreement, which gives a mandate to the ILO to monitor the Government’s efforts in the country to comply with the measures it has adopted. Let us hope that this will indeed prove meaningful for the nearly 2 million migrant workers in the country.