The much awaited changes to the Qatar’s labour law which is also known as “Kafala” for the overseas workers would come into force in the next year’s month of December. As per the media reports.
The law changing the rules that oversee the exit visas and the job contracts in Qatar was reveled in Qatar’s official newspaper. And as per them, the changes would come into force by 14th December 2016, fourteen months after initially being approved.
This is the first time that the date has been provided for the latest regulation that would come into effect from next year. The change would permit the overseas workers who seek to leave Qatar could apply for permission upto three days prior to the ministry. If the permission is rejected, then the employees who seek to leave could then complain to the committee of grievance which is established under the latest law.
Presently, the workers require an exit visa approved by their sponsor to be able to leave the nation. The changes also permit the overseas workers to switch employment at the end of the contract with fixed term.
Under the present system, workers who leave the job after the contract ends had to wait for two years to return back to Qatar for taking up the latest position, if their old employer objects to the latest job.
The changes were announced followed by the much higher profile overseas campaign by the critics over the labor regulations in the nation which would host the World Cup Football in the year 2022.
Qatar has faced criticism from the right groups for its slow pace of change. The steps which would be applied from next year had failed to pacify the critics over their matter. The Foreign Trade Union Confederation had described the proposed reforms as a sham.
This system applies to two million people from abroad who make up about 90% of the population in the country. A total number of overseas workers, majority of them laborers on the important infrastructure projects is estimated to reach around 2.5 million by the year 2020.
