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Amnesty International has called upon Qatari authorities to “urgently remove provisions in the Labour Law which deny labour rights to domestic and some other workers.” |
In a new report published yesterday on domestic workers, the rights organisation pointed out that “in recent years, the (Qatar) government has repeatedly stated that it will introduce a domestic workers law.”
“International attention on the 2022 FIFA World Cup has thrown a spotlight on the plight of migrant construction workers in Qatar,” Audrey Gaughran, Amnesty International’s global issues director, said in a press release announcing the report’s release. The report draws upon interviews with 52 female domestic workers, with government officials, embassies of domestic workers’ countries of origin and recruitment agencies.
The report also relies on data provided by institutions that work with domestic workers facing difficulties. Amnesty International researchers also visited the deportation centre and prison.
“Following Amnesty International’s November 2013 report on migrant workers in Qatar’s construction sector, the Qatari government announced that the law firm DLA Piper would examine Amnesty International’s findings as part of a wider review of the situation of migrant workers in Qatar. Their report is expected in the coming weeks,” Gaughran said.
Local Arabic daily Al Sharq had reported in September 2013 that a draft law on domestic workers has been submitted to the cabinet for consideration. Several aspects of the draft law, which is being seen as one of the best of its kind in the GCC region, are based on standards set by an International Labour Organisation convention on suitable work conditions for domestic workers, according to the report.
However, in the press release Gaughran has alleged that “the complete absence of protections for domestic workers’ labour rights, and the fact that they are isolated in employers’ homes, leaves them exposed to abuse to an even greater extent.”
“The Qatari authorities are failing to protect migrant domestic workers who face severe exploitation,” the rights body has accused.
There are at least 84,000 women migrant domestic workers in the country, mainly from South and South East Asia, according to the report.
