Qatar’s much anticipated labour reforms came into effect on Tuesday 13 December 2016. Law No. 21 of 2015 introduces new provisions regulating the entry, exit and residency requirements of all migrant workers in Qatar. While the government states these reforms demonstrate an end to the ‘kafala’ system of sponsorship-based employment, critics warn Qatar’s new law is insufficient, and fails to adequately protect the 2.1 million migrants currently working in the country.

Related items:

• Qatar/ILO agreement on labour reforms must be backed by action and real improvements for migrant workers, say rights groups (Oct 2017)
• ILO decision on complaint concerning Qatar's non-observance of the Forced Labour and Labour Inspection conventions (2014-2017) (Updated: Nov 2017)