Qatar has been a pioneer in labour reforms in the region and has won praise of ILO and many international organizations for its measures to protect migrant workers and safeguard their rights.
The government considers the welfare of guest workers as one of the key priorities and is committed to reforming Qatar’s labour laws and practices to design a system that is fair for both employees and employers. Over the past several years, Qatar has implemented extensive reforms to strengthen labour laws, and increase protections for migrant workers.
Majority of workers now no longer need exit permits to leave the country. They can change employment freely, without requiring a no-objection certificate from their previous employer. Chairperson of NHRC H E Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah has said that over 400,000 workers have changed their employers since the abolition of the sponsorship system in Qatar.
The country has opened 20 Qatar Visa Centres in labour exporting countries to expedite the recruitment process and ensure workers do not get exploited in their home countries. The country has also established a Workers’ Support and Insurance Fund, which aims to support workers, guarantee their rights and provide them with a healthy and safe work environment. In March 2021, Qatar introduced a minimum wage of QR1,000, which applies to all employees across all sectors in Qatar, including domestic workers. The employer must additionally provide QR500 per month for accommodation and QR300 per month for food unless provided by their employer.
The International Labour Organisation inaugurated its first project office in Qatar on April 30, 2018. The office supports implementation of a comprehensive technical cooperation programme on working conditions and labour rights in Qatar. This is an acknowledgement of the important steps the Qatari government has taken to develop a modern labour system that is just to employers and employees both.
To further ease the recruitment process of workers, the Ministry of Labour has launched a new package of e-services related to the management of work permits. The new services include six different requests, including a request for a work permit, renewing a work permit, cancelling a permit, issuing a labour recruitment approval, renewing the validity of a labour recruitment approval, and a request for amending a labour recruitment approval.
The service enables establishments to submit a request to renew a work licence and a request to cancel the work licence online without the need to visit the ministry’s headquarters, external offices or government complexes.
