The workers’ file is of great importance to Qatar’s policies after foreign workers in the country recorded a rapid increase since 2010, when Doha was awarded the right to host the 2022 World Cup.
As a result, the country’s population jumped from 1.6 million in December 2010 to 2.7 million by the end of 2018, due to the building boom that followed that year.
Foreign workers represent 95 percent of Qatar’s workforce. They work in sectors such as construction, hotels and domestic work.
Over the past years, Qatar has approved a series of important labor reforms, most notably allowing migrant workers to change jobs without the permission of their employers, and raising the minimum wage for all workers regardless of their nationalities.