Once again Qatar’s labour reforms, which are meant to protect and promote migrant workers rights, have won global appreciation. This time FIFA President Gianni Infantino has acknowledged these efforts.
The journey towards these reforms began when the State of Qatar issued Law No 21 of 2015 regulating the entry, exit and residency of expatriates which came into force on December 14, 2016.
The law replaced the labour sponsorship system known as ‘Kafala’ with a new contract-based law which was a step that introduced greater flexibility in the Qatar labour market and enhanced protection of labour rights.
Ending labour sponsorship system needed bringing a series of legislative reforms which were introduced by the State to ensure the highest level of protection to the expatriate workers including hundreds of thousands of construction workers recruited for stadiums and facilitates to host FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Accordingly many restrictions and conditions such as exit permit were removed. The condition of obtaining employer’s no-objection certificate (NOC) for job transfer was completely scrapped in August 2020, followed by wage protection system and adoption of non-discriminatory minimum wage.
All these achievements were enhanced with more landmark changes including increasing number of labour dispute resolution committees in an effort to facilitate workers’ access to their rights and expedite legal proceedings. These reforms won praise of the ILO and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) as well as other human rights organizations across the globe.
The latest praise, in a series of comments commending Qatar for its remarkable achievements in the labour market and significant improvement in living conditions of workers, was made by the FIFA President Gianni Infantino who stressed during his speech at at the 71st FIFA Congress, that “workers and human rights are a priority for FIFA and Qatar as well”, adding that the “Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup will be an ideal version of the World Cup”.
Infantino pointed out that “FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will not only be the most important and greatest tournament ever, but it will leave a great social impact and a great legacy in the country and the region as a whole.” He also praised the optimal preparations made by the State of Qatar further expressing his absolute confidence in the success of Qatar in organizing the best version of the FIFA World Cup.
The labour law reforms are a continuous process and the State of Qatar and FIFA give great priority to protection of human rights and on top of them the labour rights.
