The new measures come one year after Amir of Qatar, Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, signed the reforms into law. The law abolishes the Kafala system and guarantees greater flexibility, freedom and protection to Qatar’s more than 2.1 million salaried workforce. Discussing the announcement at a press conference today, the Minister of Administrative Development Labour & Social Affairs Dr. Issa bin Saad Al-Jafali Al-Nuaimi said: “The State of Qatar is enormously grateful to the millions of workers who have come to Qatar to build our nation’s infrastructure during this period of rapid change. The new law is the latest step towards improving and protecting the rights of every expatriate worker in Qatar. It replaces the Kafala system with a modernised, contract-based system that safeguards worker rights and increases job flexibility.”
“We welcome any comment or constructive criticism, and will continue to do so in the future. However, we urge the international community not to draw any definitive conclusions until there has been time to see the new law in action. At its core, we are doing this because we believe it is the right thing to do and because it provides tangible new benefits to expatriate workers. This is why we will work diligently to ensure it is properly implemented, including increasing our monitoring capabilities and hiring more compliance inspectors to tighten the net on companies who violate the law.”