Summary:
Qatar became the first nation in the Gulf to implement a non-discriminatory minimum wage in March 2021, making it the first country in the region to do so. The International Labour Organization (ILO) has released its annual and four-year progress reports on Qatar’s labour reforms. Qatar has the most significant number of outdoor work prohibitions in the Gulf area. The number of patients admitted to clinics with heat-related diseases has decreased. Qatar has improved workers’ access to justice by establishing new labour tribunals and an online platform for workers to file grievances.
More than 613 workers representing more than 40,000 employees have established joint committees with employers in Qatar, according to a report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) on labour reform in Qatar published in Doha this week. The country’s “kafala” sponsorship system was facilitating exploitation and forced labour, the report says.
Since it began in April 2018, the Technical Cooperation Programme between the Government of Qatar and the ILO has led to more reports from the ILO about what happened.
The significant efforts that have been made in the areas of labour migration governance, the enforcement of the labour law and access to justice, and enhancing the voice of workers and social dialogue are covered in the annual and four-year progress reports.
Because of these changes, the living and working conditions of tens of thousands of workers have already gotten better. Still, more work must be done to guarantee that all workers benefit from them.
The ability to change jobs
Before, firms in Qatar had to permit their employees to leave the country and change jobs. These made up the most complex components of the kafala sponsorship system, which rendered employees unduly reliant on their employers and provided room for forced labour and other forms of exploitation.
Since these reforms were implemented two years ago, the Ministry of Labour (MOL) has authorised almost 350,000 petitions from migrant workers seeking to switch occupations. However, many employees still encounter obstacles while quitting their jobs and switching to new ones, mainly because of hostility from their bosses.
Payment of wages
Qatar became the first nation in the Gulf to implement a non-discriminatory minimum wage in March 2021. This rate applies to all workers, regardless of nationality, in all industries, including domestic work. Since the new legislation was implemented, 280,000 employees, or 13% of the workforce, have seen their earnings increase to the new minimum threshold.
Additionally, employers must transfer workers’ wages through Qatari banks so that the MOL can monitor the transfers and cut down on wage fraud. The consequences for failing to pay salaries have increased and are being enforced more aggressively. A government-created fund has distributed $320 million since 2019. This number illustrates the severity of the problem of unpaid salaries in the nation.
Workplace health and safety and labour inspection
The topic of worker safety and health is one of the Program’s key goals (OSH).
With the most significant number of outdoor work prohibitions in the Gulf area, new legislation in Qatar protects workers from heat stress by banning outside work from 1 June to 15 September from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The law also establishes a point at which all outdoor work must cease regardless of the season or time of day.
In the summers of 2021 and 2022, labour inspection campaigns resulted in work stoppages and shutdowns in 338 and 463 workplaces, respectively, due to non-compliance with the law regarding restricted working hours.
The number of patients admitted to clinics with heat-related diseases has decreased due to the new regulations and inspection initiatives. A total of 351 patients were seen in the summer of 2022, as opposed to 1,520 patients in the year before the enactment of the legislation, representing a 77% decrease in just two years.
The ILO collaborated with the government and other significant institutions in Qatar to develop a report that provided complete national data on the subject for 2020 regarding data on occupational injuries and fatalities. The research also pointed out several holes in how data is gathered and offered 20 suggestions for what needs to be done.
Obtaining justice
Before implementing recent labour changes, employees had few options for bringing claims against their employers. Qatar has improved workers’ access to justice during the past few years by establishing new labour tribunals and an online platform for workers to file grievances, according to the Programme.
Due partly to the online platform’s enhanced accessibility, the number of worker complaints more than doubled. MOL received 34,425 complaints from employees between October 2021 and October 2022, most of which were on unpaid salaries. 66.5 percent of the overall complaints were resolved either before or during conciliation. Nearly 31% of the complaints were sent to the labour courts, which ruled 84% of the time in favour of the workers.
Employee voice
Foreign employees are not permitted by Qatari legislation to organise or join unions. Social interaction and worker representation platforms were incredibly few before the labour reforms. New legislation has established joint worker-management committees at the organisational level. The legislation is a first for the area and allows for elected migrant worker representatives.
As of this writing, 613 workers representing more than 40,000 employees had established joint committees with approximately 70 companies. Training has been provided to dozens more businesses in preparation for future elections.
Continuing difficulties
The results show that it is generally agreed that more work must be done to implement and enforce labour reforms effectively. The need to ensure that all workers and employers can benefit from the kafala reforms on labour mobility, to speed access to justice and the recovery of unpaid wages, and to properly implement the law addressing domestic workers’ rights are noted as being among the ILO’s top objectives. The ILO plans to collaborate with the government, employees, and employers to promote further the synchronisation of Qatar’s legal framework and business practices with global labour standards.
Background
International trade unions filed a complaint with the ILO in 2014, alleging that the State of Qatar violated fundamental labour norms. Allegations that the “kafala,” or sponsorship system, was facilitating exploitation and forced labour, as well as claims that the national regulatory framework was ineffective at identifying or resolving violations of labour rights, were at the core of this lawsuit.
The ILO Governing Body sent a high-level tripartite team to Qatar in response to the complaint, which set off a chain of events under the ILO supervisory framework. After lengthy negotiations, the State of Qatar and the ILO agreed on a plan to implement significant labour changes. The ILO Governing Body approved this plan, and the complaint process was shut down in 2017. The ILO launched its Doha Program Office in April 2018. The Governing Body received reports from the ILO Doha Office for three years.
The country’s National Vision 2030, which contains goals relating to the growth of a competitive, diversified, and knowledge-based economy, is connected with and supported by the reforms.
Analysis by: Advocacy Unified Network
