On August 30, Qatar amended its labour laws, increasing its minimum wage to 1,000 riyals (about Rs 20,000) for all workers in the gas-rich...
On August 30, Qatar amended its labour laws, increasing its minimum wage to 1,000 riyals (about Rs 20,000) for all workers in the gas-rich kingdom, replacing a temporary wage of 750 riyals introduced in 2017. Under the new legislation, companies are required to also provide workers with free food and housing or pay them an additional 500 riyals for rent and 300 riyals for provisions.
In another significant development, announced the same day, the 2022 football World Cup host scrapped a longstanding requirement for migrants to get their employer’s consent (in the form of a no-objection certificate) to change jobs and represents a significant step towards dismantling the country’s kafala system.
All migrant worker contracts, across the six Gulf states, are regulated by a labour sponsorship system called the “kafala”. Despite notable variations in its form, one of the kafala’s defining features is that every migrant worker must have a specific job and a sponsoring employer under whom they work – neither of which can be changed easily.
For decades, Qatar, like its wealthy Gulf neighbours, has depended on armies of low-wage transient workers from countries like India, Nepal, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Kenya to mop floors, paint walls, serve tables, supply medicine, deliver food, and care for pets, children...
