AFP
Doha
Qatar’s labour minister said yesterday he hopes the “kafala” (sponsorship) system will be abolished before the end of this year.
HE the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Dr Abdulla bin Saleh al-Khualifi said he was “90%” certain the system would be replaced within the next seven months.
“I hope it will be prior to the year end,” said al-Khulaifi.
“We discussed it, our stakeholders have looked at it... Now it is on track.
“Do I believe it will come out positively? Yes, I do. Because at the end of the day I believe it is good for the economy, it’s good for the country.”
Asked if the scheme would be abolished by the end of the year, al-Khulaifi replied: “I am 90% hopeful or believe that it will be.”
Under kafala, employers can prevent foreign workers from changing jobs or leaving the country.
The system has become a focus of attention since Qatar was awarded the 2022 football World Cup, as the country’s labour laws come under increasing international scrutiny.
Abolition of kafala would represent the biggest reform of Qatar’s labour market.
Doha says it will replace the system with one based instead on employment contracts.
These contracts would last a maximum of five years and the current exit permit system would be replaced with one where workers give the authorities a maximum of 72 hours’ notice that they want to leave the country.
Al-Khulaifi also said Qatar would fully implement another major labour reform - an electronic payment system for thousands of migrant labourers - by mid-August.
This would ensure that up to 1mn workers get paid at least once a month and, in some cases, every fortnight.
Mustafa Qadri, Amnesty’s Gulf migrant rights researcher, welcomed any change but said more was needed.
Work progressing at five World Cup stadiums
No labourers working on Qatar’s World Cup stadium projects have died because of industrial accidents or injury, 2022 chief Hassan al-Thawadi said yesterday.
Speaking at a press briefing for foreign reporters in Doha, al-Thawadi said that work has been carried out so far on beginning to build or revamp five stadiums in preparation for football’s biggest competition, which will take place in the state in 2022.
“We have had about 4.8mn working hours. We’ve got about just over 2,500 workers and about five stadiums - we are at the early stages of construction,” said al-Thawadi, the secretary general for Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC).
“The World Cup stadium projects that we are responsible for, there have been no fatalities and no major injuries as well.”
Up to 12 stadiums will be used for the tournament.
Qatar is spending some $200bn on infrastructure over the next few years including not only preparations for the World Cup but also projects such as a $36bn metro network for Doha and a nearly $2bn sewerage system.
Labourers working at the construction site of the Al-Wakrah football stadium, one of the Qatar’s 2022 World Cup stadiums yesterday.
