Qatar to abolish ‘kafala’ labour system next January ahead of 2022 World Cup
" Qatar has faced pressure over unsafe working conditions
The most deeply resented employment condition for migrant workers in Qatar, the "kafala" system, is to be abolished in January, the International Labour Organisation has announced. The ILO, a UN employment rights agency which has been working on reforms with the Qatar government since 2017, said the Gulf country's ministers had agreed to end kafala and also introduce "a non-discriminatory minimum wage, the first in the Middle East."
Kafala ties workers to so-called sponsorship by their employer, meaning they cannot move jobs or leave the country without the employer's approval. Human rights groups have campaigned for years to have kafala abolished across the Gulf, whose countries use millions of low-paid immigrant workers mostly from the Indian subcontinent. Fifa's decision to locate the 2022 World Cup in Qatar has hugely increased scrutiny, and the Qatar government ultimately responded by signing a formal cooperation with the ILO promising to implement improvements.
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