Harnessing the potentials of the informal sector for sustainable development
Right to Development of non-Qatari citizens
1. Right to Development of Non-Qatari Citizens
Sayeed S. Mohammed
Background paper for Human Development Report- 2014
Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics
Abstract:
A country with over 90% of the migrant population suffers from labour abuse, exploitation and
deprivation of basic rights that every human is entitled to enjoy. This paper documents the first-
hand experience of abuse of migrant workers through my interviews and focus group meetings of
more than 200 labours in the last 3 years. This paper addresses some of the key concerns related
to the practice of Article 30 of Qatar’s Constitution. Various loopholes in the existing protection
policies and corresponding amendments in the context of human rights are discussed. Best
practices in the protection of workers by Qatar Foundation and Qatari Diar also highlighted.
Introduction:
The labour migration in the GCC countries started from the early 1970s when the hydrocarbon
economy was flourishing and until now, it continues to attract workers. Countries like Qatar,
UAE, Kuwait, the non-nationals supersede the local population. There is a continuous debate
about the growing expatriate and the loss of sociocultural identity of the Gulf countries. The
government faces challenges in balancing economic growth and cultural identity. The major
economic reforms in 1995 and the discovery of new oil and gas reserves opened up employment
opportunities for the locals as well as for the expatriate community. Qatar with a very small
population and lack of skills become a pull factor to attract high-skilled and low-skilled labors
from worldwide, and the latter mostly from the Asian countries. Shrinking economic
opportunities, the aspiration for increased material standards, escape from violence and conflict
became a major push factor to seek employment in the GCC countries. Recently the Gulf
countries have become a major destination for employment for Europeans because of the
economic crisis. Qatar is a latecomer in terms of development relative to their neighbours, the
discovery of new gas reserves in the North field changes the dynamics and become one of the
richest country in the world, in terms of per capita income. The growing expenditures on basic
infrastructure and institutions, relatively stable economy and peaceful society attracting lots of
expatriate workers.
These labor migrants have contributed substantially to the Qatar’s economy in not only building
the infrastructure but also providing the basic household services right from cooking, cleaning,
feeding, and babysitting. Unlike in Western Europe, the foreign workers contribute minimally to
2. the national labour workforce, but in the case of Qatar (and other GCC countries) the expatriate
community outnumbers in every sector, except public administration and defense. This shows
the role of migrant labours in the Qatar’s development and there is no sign of abating as the
economy and infrastructure is expanding. The migrant population has tripled in the last decade,
and this is phenomenal in the region and globally. In order to build the World Cup infrastructure,
Qatar needs over 1 million labourers [1]. The average annual growth of total migrant labourers,
semi-skilled and unskilled labourers over the period of 2004-2012 is 14.7%, 17.7% and 13.7%
respectively. (QSA, 2013) [2]
The low-skilled workers are mostly in the construction sector contributing for half a million, and
this is the primary source of income for the majority of South Asian labours. Economic
opportunities and escape from conflicts are the important factors that bring the labours to the
Arab world. Qatar has provided job opportunities for thousands of citizens and some of them
have served more than 30 years, particularly citizens from India, Pakistan, Palestine and other
countries. However, there is no accurate number in this regard. According to the UN population
division (UNPD) estimates, Qatar tops number one in number of the migrant population
compared to the total population as shown in the figure 1a. There is a phenomenal annual growth
of the migrant population, ranging from 2 percent in the early 1990-1995 to 12 percent in 2005-
2010 as shown in figure 1b and table 1. This phenomenon will continue to grow for at least the
next decade. This shows that the expatriate community remains instrumental to the Qatar’s
development and protecting their rights and empowering them would bring positive change in
the society.
Fig 1a. Countries or areas with the highest proportion of international migrants in 2010 among
those with at least one million inhabitants [3]
4. 2004-2012 15.0 13.1 14.7
Table 1: Total number of migrant population in Qatar [4]
Right to Development: Non- Qatari citizens
In this section, we will see various international instruments that guarantee basic human rights
for migrant workers and the right to develop. According to the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights [5], rights relevant to migrant workers; to be free from slavery or servitude; equality
before the law and equal protection of the law; protection against discrimination; effective
remedy by national tribunals; freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention or exile; freedom of
movement and residence; peaceful assembly and association; and social security. Articles
concerning specifically addressing work and employment, granting: the right to work; free
choice of employment; just and favourable conditions of work and protection against
unemployment; equal pay for equal work without any discrimination; just and favourable
remuneration; the formation and membership of trade unions; rest and leisure, including
reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay; an adequate standard of
living; and security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability or other lack of livelihood
(Articles 23, 24 and 25). And also, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (“ICESCR”) and the right to freely chosen work, the right to full employment, the right to
fair wages (Article 7 (a) (i)), the right to an adequate standard of living (Article 11(1)), the right
to safe and healthy working conditions (Article 7 (b)), the right to rest and leisure (Article 7
(d)), the right to form and join trade unions (Article 8(a)), the right to strike (Article 8(d)), and
the right to social security (Article (9)) [6]. Protecting migrant rights have been since the
establishment of ILO “protection of the interests of workers when employed in countries other
than their own.” And this has been repeatedly asserted in other main conventions like 1944
Philadelphia Declaration [7] and the 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at
Work [8]. Very recently, at the 92nd
convention of ILO (2004) stated, “a fair deal for all migrant
workers requires a rights-based approach, in accordance with existing international labour
standards and ILO principles.”
“States are, therefore, obliged inter alia to dismantle discrimination, to prohibit torture and cruel
human treatment a well an arbitrary detention, to ensure the availability, accessibility,
affordability, acceptability, adaptability and quality of services and guarantee the right to health,
education an adequate standard of living, protect the right of all migrants to decent work, and to
ensure access to justice, the right to a fair trial, the right to an effective remedy, personal security
as well as free expression, association an assembly.” (pp.16, UN HRO) [9].
In the context of a human - rights approach to migrant workers in Qatar, the State has to:
5. · Respect – refrain from interfering with the enjoyment of human rights
· Protect - prevent private or other parties from violating human rights
· Fulfill – must take positive measures to ensure the realization of human rights.
The ILO has been instrumental in addressing the labour rights globally and successfully worked
with many State parties in ratifying the conventions. Besides multiple conventions (mentioned in
the Annex 1) that apply to all workers, some conventions explicitly cover migrant workers like
the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, which includes a) freedom of
association and right to collective bargaining, b) elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory
labour, c) elimination of discrimination in respect employment and occupation. And also, the
most recent convention – The ILO Multilateral Framework on Labour migration – a rights-based
approach to labour migration. This covers various policy recommendations tor improving he
governance, promotion and protection of migrant rights and encouraging the linkages between
migration and development (for the nation and the worker himself)
The UN and other ILO conventions provide a normative and legal framework to safeguard the
rights of migrant workers. Though, the States have the sovereign right to draft its own migration
law, but the law should comply the international standards. Qatar with more than 90% of migrant
workers, it is a national priority to have a robust and holistic human rights framework, with
normative principles, legal obligations and standards that would provide all rights – able to live
and work in safety and dignity, eliminate all forms of violence, exploitation, abuse,
discrimination and xenophobia. The prolonged neglect of these rights has received widespread
condemnation and criticism from the international community lately and called for an overhaul
of the current exploitative Sponsorship system. And also to ensure basic labour rights and treat
all workers fairly. This would enhance the rights of workers because this not only bring a
positive image to Qatar that was recently marred by the international media, but also in
accordance with the Islamic rights. This would eventually serve the Article 30 of Qatar
constitution [10].
“The employee- employer relationship shall be based on the ideals of social justice and shall
be regulated by law.”
International Response:
Criticism concerning labour abuse is not new to Qatar (or GCC countries). In the past, the GCC
countries collectively braced criticism for forced labour, particularly of children employed as
camel jockeys [11]. With the growing wealth, political clout, and subdued media, the labour
issues were ignored for a very long time. Time and time again, there are some news articles
about the extreme cases, by and large the widespread labour abuse is unreported. Immediately
6. after winning the bid for hosting first-ever football game in the region, Qatar received
tremendous criticism from international organizations for the labour abuse. Many news reports
constantly label Qatar for practicing slavery, forced labour, etc. Recently, the Guardian
newspaper published an article which sparked international debate about the same issue and
called for withdrawing the FIFA games unless Qatar don’t abolish the Kafala system. There is
continued pressure on the FIFA body to persuade the Qatar government to amend the policies
quickly and effectively. Delegates of UN visited Qatar in November to address these concerns
and recommended policy amendments [12-16]. International Labour Organization extended their
support to develop a framework to protect and enhance the security of labourers. Guy Ryder- the
director general of ILO, speaking in the CNN news channel says, ..”It is eminently fixable, it is
not a big economy, very limited principle contractors, and resources are not lacking”[17]
Current Status: Plight of Migrant Workers
In this paper, I’ll document the experience of migrant workers, predominantly the life of low-
skilled workers from Asia and also white-collar workers. I’ll document my experience about
their experience with recruitment agencies; workplace (or employer), living conditions, health,
etc. In the last 2 months, I have extended my interviews to white-collar workers, local citizens
and ministerial agencies. Most of the communication was oral and no rigorous survey was
undertaken. The word “worker” or “labour” typically means for the low-skilled labour, unless
specifically mentioned as “white-collar workers”. So far, Qatar failed to differentiate between
temporary and permanent, blue and white-collar workers. However, there is no such thing as a
permanent foreign worker, all foreign workers considered as temporary even he (she) spent
entire life. But for the sake of discussion to delineate the rights of workers, we classified
temporary and permanent.
a. Temporary worker – Working with a definite contract (formal or informal) in private or
public companies and living in Qatar for less than 10 years continuously
b. Permanent Worker – Working on an indefinite contract (formal or informal) in private or
public companies or independently and living here for more than 10 years continuously.
Labour from the South Asia is a cheap commodity – easy to be transported and disposed of
based on the need. As a Swiss Writer Max Frisch rightly puts it: “We called for labour power,
and human beings came”. Having said that, the human rights abuse starts right from the sending
countries; private employment agencies deceive the labors with fraudulent contracts containing
different job descriptions, salary, working conditions, etc. Moreover, these manpower agencies
charge heftily to these labours as a part of the service charge (also bribery and corruption),
medical expenses, ticket, etc. Based on my interview, more than 2000 USD is charged by them.
Based on the interviews, some workers have to sell their land or their wife’s jewellery or their
lifelong savings to pay this hefty amount under the assumption that they will repay the money
7. once they start earning. Here comes the vicious cycle as shown in the figure 2. The workers
were promised to pay higher wages, but after their arrival, their wages were reduced, their
overtime wage is unpaid, delayed wages, increasing local expenses prolong their stay in Qatar.
Moreover, interest on their debt continue to increase. The majority of the labours spend partial
earnings in clearing their debts, and there is no real saving for which they aim to achieve. I
would like to pause here briefly to investigate more about their income breakdown. The average
salary of the lower-tier workers range from 800QR- 1200 QR ($220 - $330). Their spending is
food 200 QR ($55), communication 60 QR ($16), health 100QR ($27), miscellaneous expenses
40 QR ($11). The average monthly saving is 400 QR ($110) and which they sent their money to
their family. This $110 is distributed to pay their debt, education, health, food, etc. which
reduces the opportunity of saving and force the labour to continue their stay in harsh working
condition. Lack of social protection in their home country makes them vulnerable to economic
shocks like reduced or delayed salary, loss of job, etc. Some workers desperate to settle their
debt and leave the country and earn within their own limits. Their untold suffering from being
away from their family and with no positive return is way too high.
Figure 2. Poverty trap of low-income migrant workers [Source: Author construction]
Most of the workers feel they were deceived and help captive unwillingly and as one labour puts
it, ‘it’s collusion between the manpower agency and the manager of the company’. Some
workers were told by their recruiting agencies that, they will get paid holiday for 2 months once
in 2 years, but many of them were forced to stay for 3-4 years. This is mostly observed among
Nepalese. After toiling harsh conditions for years with little possibilities of prospect, many
8. workers like to leave the country, but their employers don’t provide them their passport and exit
permit. Workers feel, they are trapped in an abyss. Having said that, this is entirely not the
problem of Qatari Law which clearly stipulated that withholding passport is a crime, and all the
workers deserve an annual vacation. The employers, mostly the Indian management companies
are performing the worst (based on the sample, the Indian-managed companies are high).
Though, it may sound too immature to lay blame on the Indian companies. Nonetheless, these
telling stories uncover the realities of recruiting agencies and manpower supply companies.
Life of domestic labours:
Countless reports talk about the plight of construction labourers and housemaids because of the
sheer number and visible abuse. But there are many other workers serving us in our day-to-day
life are facing hardships, working in inhumane conditions and exploitation from their employers.
Based on my interviews with workers in the laundry, small road-side groceries, barbers,
restaurant workers, fishermen (the author is not aware of their category, whether they come
under blue-collar worker or domestic worker) face similar struggles like construction workers,
except the difference, is they work under the shade. Many workers’ passports were confiscated,
delay wages, reduction of wages, no annual holidays, not issuing exit permits on time and ease.
If any worker decides to leave before the actual contract, they have to pay cash (depends on each
employer) to issue the travel documents. The latter case is unique, because these workers are in
close touch with their employers, unlike the construction workers. These workers have no day-
off (sometimes in the public holidays, they have to remain their shops open), work for long
hours, at times more than 14 hours and their salaries are almost equivalent to construction
labourers. Nepalese, Indians, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans are the dominant nationalities,
among which Nepalese receives very fewer salaries less than 3/4th
of the Indian worker, say 600
QR. The fishermen face another problem is the ‘seasonal wages’, for a few months of the year;
they are out of work, and lack of social security pushes them to live in penurious condition. No
access to nearby hospitals and clinics make it much harder. Among the interviewed fishermen
near the Doha port, all the 15 fishermen have no health insurance card and this case is observed
among other domestic workers, as well. A man working in a laundry appeals that in his own
words, “… we work all 7 days for more than 14 hours continuously standing, all that we need is
to have ONE day holiday every week, we don’t even ask for wage increment.”
One of the major misconceptions of Qatari companies here is that the labours can be treated
inhumanely and can be disposed of, whenever it requires, because of the abundance of labour
surplus. But the companies fail to realize that, lack of protection and promotion would hamper
the enterprise competitiveness and incur losses in the long run due to poor productivity and lack
of commitment shown by the workers. Very interesting labour dynamic is happening in Qatar,
initially the majority of the construction workers is from Pakistan, and India. When the demands
of the workers started to rise, the companies looked for other countries, where they can import
9. labourers at a much cheaper price. This phenomena is not unique to Qatar, but the result of
globalization – reducing the cost through exporting the production and service delivery in cheap
labour countries. For instance, the local community is totally dependent on the domestic labours
like housemaids, drivers, cooks, etc. female Filipino housemaids are very common in Qatar.
However, there are continuous scandals of absconding, sexual and physical abuse, low wages,
etc. So the Philippines' government demanded to increase the basic wage of $400 with prescribed
job description and adequate protection, which the local community finds it unacceptable. So the
Qatar government started recruiting domestic labours from other countries like Vietnam, Bosnia-
Herzegovina, Macedonia, Cambodia and Bangladesh with an average wage of $200-$250 [18].
White Collar Migrant Labours:
So far, we have discussed extensively of blue-collar labours. Besides interviewing blue-collar
and domestic workers, I extended my interview to white-collar workers, though the number of
interviewees was small (n=30) relative to the workers. As mentioned before, the expatriate
community is instrumental in building the country’s infrastructure and advancing the economy.
Needless to say, the white collar workers have a profound impact on the economic growth. These
workers are in every organization holding major posts right from the managing directors, vice
president of a research division, researchers, accountants, engineers, doctors, etc. In every field,
foreign workers are supporting the development of Qatar. Despite the widespread labour abuses
practiced by many companies, there are thousands of white-collar workers enjoy a decent life,
free healthcare facilities, subsidized electricity and water, etc. However, the nature of jobs
occupied by the foreign workers vary extensively. The majority of the managerial positions
(besides Qatari workforce) is from the Western and Arab world. A deep racial hierarchy is
observed among the white-collar workers. One of the most repeatedly heard complaints is the
disparities in terms of salaries and issuance of NOC, though; they may have a similar job title.
According to the interviewees, this disparity is not due to lack of education or experiences, but
solely based on the racial background. But this does not apply to all the companies; parity is
observed in ministries, and major organization like Qatar Foundation, Qatar Petroleum and
petrochemical companies, the foreign workers are treated equally at least in terms of issuance of
NOC, benefits, and other remuneration.
Even among the white-collar workers, there are unspoken and unseen abuses mostly in the
private companies. Some private companies exploit their employees by not issuing the exit
permit on time, and not allowing them to leave the company (the NOC restrains their mobility)
and the latter is a major inhibiting factor to progress. Labour mobility within Qatar is considered
as a threat. However, it is an opportunity for Qatar to increase the labour productivity which in
turn improves the national economic productivity. The companies respond to the non-issuance of
NOC; there is a substantial investment in bringing a labour and training them. “At least the
companies should allow the workers to seek for other jobs if they have serviced for a year or
10. two,” says an Engineer from a construction firm. Respecting the rights of migrant workers
would bring long-term benefit to Qatar, as migrants would feel safe (though, they don’t get
naturalized) offer their service with full productivity. This certainly contradicts the Article-30
and moreover the right to development.
Employer-Employee Relationship:
As globalization and neoliberalism creep over the market globally, the employment relationship
is at risk. The workers are less protected; there is a great deal of literature about it [19]. In Qatar,
the game is different, it is not the globalization or neoliberalism erodes the labour protection, but
the age-old system – Kafala. According to the Article 30 of the Qatar’s constitution states, “The
employee- employer relationship, shall be based on the ideals of social justice and shall be
regulated by law.” However, this article is ambiguous, and it requires the national labour law
and ILO standards to clear the ambiguity. The word ‘social justice’ can be misinterpreted in a
multiple ways. Right to decent work, the right to dignity, the right to health and the right to
social security complements extensively to the Article 30 of the Constitution (explained below).
Social justice calls for equal power or level playing field between the employer and employee,
but the Kafala (sponsorship) system distorts this balance, where the employer holds absolute
power. The employer decides the fate of employees, the deserved entitlements like an annual
holiday (based on the workers’ choice), sick leave, demand for annual pay increases, promotion,
decent living conditions, etc. of a worker totally depends on the employer and very few
companies understand that, this is a basic right. Let us pause here briefly to understand the
employer-employee relationship. Since there is no such thing as citizenship like European and
US model, all foreign expats are considered as temporary, even if they spend an entire life here
or even if there are two generations, they don’t get naturalized. Kafala system makes every other
foreign expat to be dependent on the Qatari employer, without the consent of the Qatari
employer, the employee cannot leave the country, look for another job, take holidays. Many
studies find this system leads to forced labour and slavery [12, 20]. However, there are counter
arguments concerning Kafala system; this is the only way to control the massive influx of
foreign labours and to avoid crimes like theft, murder, etc. Many justify retaining this system for
a reason, in the past, there were many cases, the domestic labours and white collar workers stole
money/belongings from their homes/offices while their employer is on holiday. This was true to
a certain extent when the new money gushed into the hands of locals and the profligate spending
tempted some workers to steal the belongings/money. However, this system becomes obsolete,
particularly when the influx of population is increasing and where the possibilities of these kinds
of crimes are dwindling.
Employees, in general, are in contract –either temporary or permanent with their employer. Only
a very tiny population is without any official contracts with their employer because they have a
Free Visa. This makes it more flexible - move or leave any job at any time. There are so many
domestic workers like grocery; restaurant owners have no official contract, but pays monthly
11. commission to their Sponsor (or Kafeel). There is always an element of risk; the employer can
terminate or not renew the visa. Once the contract is over, the employee cannot stay, whatsoever,
unless the employer issue NOC to move or another job. The workers at the bottom of the
economic pyramid like construction workers, housemaids, drivers, agricultural labourers, truck
drivers are more vulnerable than other labourers. Because the contract of these labours doesn’t
contain specific job description, working hours, etc. and they work whatever their employer
(Kafeel) demands. This makes it much harder to take their case to judicial proceedings if there is
any dispute. If the employee decides to quit the job because of any reason, the decision lies with
the employer to issue him/her an exit permit or NOC for another job, this is true for many
companies, whether white or blue-collar worker. Workers from the Western and Arab countries
receive fairly good treatment, irrespective of their job nature. Among the white-collar workers,
the most repeatedly heard claims are – NOC and exit permit. These both restrict mobility and put
them in a vulnerable situation.
Labour protection (including health, safety, social rights) is the basis of the employment
relationship. It is the employer's responsibility to provide adequate protection and ensure security
[21-22]. As we know, if there are no effective sanctions and penalties for the employers,
compliance to the standard declarations, codes of practice would be very difficult.
Right to Dignity:
Despite all the abuse to the migrant labours, particularly the Asian labours, they face other
challenges in the society. As mentioned before, these low-wage migrant laborers were spatially
segregated [23]; their accommodation placed outside the Doha city. A great deal about their
housing conditions were talked about in several of the reports [11, 20]. We don’t want to delve
further into that. These labors are not accepted in society. Most of the labours working in private
companies (including all sectors) have only one day off in a week. Lack of recreational facilities
in the Industrial Area forces them to seek some happy moments inside the city. Unfortunately,
these labours were denied to enter into many of the public places like shopping malls,
supermarkets, parks, Corniche walkway, etc. Since Friday is considered as a “Family Day” –
which means that anyone needs to access, those places have to accompany with a woman.
However, this right is denied only to the Asian labours, the author of this report has been denied
entering into the shopping mall and Corniche walkway several times. But the matter of fact is,
there are so many single, non-Asian males enjoy the access to public space. During the Eid
Holidays last year (2012), a family man interviewed by the Peninsula newspaper argues that,
“presence of too many labourers during holidays has turned the recreation areas into a danger
zone” Recently, Baladiyya (Municipality) has enacted a new law – which promotes structural
alienation of single labours from the residential areas. To the author’s knowledge and interviews
with the evicted members, they are all Asians, predominantly from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
[24a-c]. I interviewed construction workers in different locations (City Center, Corniche
Walkway, Sofitel hotel) during the weekends, As one construction worker said ironically, “we do
clean the streets, we water the plants and we do everything in this city, and we were not allowed
12. in any public spaces.” These actions continue to alienate these labours and deprive them of self-
esteem and dignity which is a very basic right that everyone deserves it.
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason
and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood”. Article 1 of the
UN Human Rights Declaration and all the countries have ratified it. Migrant labour deserves
rights and respect, irrespective of their job nature, color and ethnicity [22]. It is understandable
that Qatar would like to protect their cultural identity and ensure security in the city, but this
structural segregation is violating the basic human rights and the Article 35 of the Qatar’s
constitution (All persons are equal before the law and there shall be no discrimination
whatsoever on grounds of sex, race, language, or religion). Acknowledgement of their work
and encouraging them to be a part of the society or creating a space for them to feel dignified.
Right to Decent Work:
Decent Work has internationally gained momentum since the economic crisis and the
organizations like ILO, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) are pushing
forward the idea of Decent Work. Decent Work calls for greater social protection, dignity, justice
and security. The four pillars of the Decent Work agenda that proposed by the ILO is: i)
employment promotion, 2) social protection, 3) social dialogue, and 4) right at work. For the
sake of the discussion, each point is briefly discussed, for more details, please check [25]. The
Decent Work complements the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR), the Preamble to the 1919 ILO Constitution [26], and the 2008 ILO Declaration on
Social Justice for a Fair Globalization [27]. The Right to Decent Work is not only limited to the
nationals but for all the workers, including migrant (temporary and permanent) workers. The
first pillar – employment promotion covers all kinds of work – formal, informal, and domestic
workers and expanding the employment opportunities. The second pillar corresponds to health
and safety at the work place, social and income security. The third pillar – social dialogue
discusses about a platform where the workers can effectively engage in a dialogue for collective
bargaining with the employers through a strike, or forming associations and trade unions. The
fourth pillar – rights at work – elimination of forced labour, the prohibition against child labour,
and elimination of discrimination at work.
Right to Decent Work is not only limited to local citizens but also to the migrant workers
(including temporary and permanent). Let us discuss Decent Work in the context of Qatar’s
constitution. Because one of the main pillars of Decent Work don’t fit with the current
constitutional practices –like forming the associations, trade unions and the rights of the unions
to bargain on behalf of the workers collectively. But at the same time, the other three pillars offer
13. a solid (if not holistic) framework to achieve decent work for all, if the government and other
civil society organizations replace the positions of associations and trade unions.
Employment Promotion – With the rising infrastructure projects, Qatar creates thousands of
jobs for both skilled and unskilled workers. The employers should guarantee the continuous
development of their workers, which is not the case. Brain drain is commonly observed, but there
is no official study done of its economic implications. But many private companies restrict the
employees to look for better jobs and this fundamentally violates the first pillar of decent work.
The employees must have the freedom to look for other jobs and this would improve the
competitiveness of the country.
Social Protection – This is most often discussed topic in the recent history of development in
Qatar. The international media and civil society organizations continue to arraign Qatar for not
protecting the safety of labours. The labours are treated inhumanely, living under harsh
conditions, inadequate health and safety standards in the workplace, very low income, etc. The
State of Qatar is working vigorously to execute stricter laws and impose penalties for the
companies providing sub-standard facilities to the workers.
Social Dialogue – Since trade unions and associations, are banned, the role of social dialogue for
the labours is very minimal and there is no one to represent the voice of workers. This makes
them marginalized and vulnerable. In order to continuously safeguard the safety of workers, the
government, National Human Rights Committee and other civil society organizations should
address the concerns proactively.
Rights at Work – This topic is extensively discussed above in the employee-employers
relationship section. The Kafala system prohibits all forms of rights (however, there are so many
companies in Qatar provide a decent working conditions and rights to workers), and often leads
to forced labour, discriminate based on their ethnicity, withholding wages, inability to travel and
mobilize, etc. Relaxing the Kafala system and providing more power to the employees would be
beneficial in the long-run which is witnessed in other GCC countries.
Addressing all these four pillars collectively would bring a substantial change in the labour
market and advance the rights of workers.
Right to Social Security:
The right to social security for the permanent expatriate community is a very complex subject,
and there is not enough literature nor public discussion. Many workers have been living in Qatar
for more than 10 years, in some cases, two generations working in public organizations or
running their own businesses with a long-term Qatari partner. Their service to the country is
14. worthy of social security and benefits like healthcare, pension, family welfare, and permission to
stay with their family members in Qatar beyond their retirement. There is a startling difference in
lifestyle between the local citizens and the foreign expats. With the massive hydrocarbon wealth,
the income of local citizens is rising and becoming affluent, consumer spending, free health care,
electricity, water, pension and social allowances. The Western expatriate community enjoys a
similar lifestyle, except the pension. Whereas, the majority of the unskilled-low-skilled laborers,
and some white-collar workers from the Asian and African community are living in poor
conditions with meager salaries. According to the ILO convention, the migrant laborers have to
be treated fairly alongside with the local citizens. During my interview with the senior expats; a
Pakistani driver landed in Qatar in early 1980s. He has been driving a taxi since then, until
recently the national transport company –Mowasalat providing transport service. So his income
has dwindled, and he engages in other menial jobs for his living and sending money home. After
being in Qatar for more than 30 years, there has been no major difference in his living
conditions. Once his resident permit is expired, this Pakistani driver has to leave the country and
he says, “After servicing so many years in Qatar, I feel I belong here, but I am not. I am frail
now; I have no savings, how can I survive in a growing inflation with no health insurance”
Another 60 year old interviewee said, my resident-permit is expiring, and it cannot be renewed,
and I have to leave the country. How am I going to cope in my country, after living here all my
life?
Recommendations:
a. After the retirement of the employee, the employee and his family must be allowed to
stay in Qatar.
b. The employees and their family must get equal treatment regarding employment,
unemployment insurance, health insurance, easy transferability of their sponsorship, etc.
c. There should be some measures by the sending countries in providing social security
benefits.
Right to Health:
The “right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental
health”, as stated in Article 12 (1)24 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR), 25 is abbreviated as the “right to health”.
Besides working and living in harsh conditions, many labours experience difficulty in accessing
decent healthcare facilities. Again, the paucity of data restricts us to do scientifically rigorous
work and most of the conclusions are based on the observation and synthesized experience of
labours. Expatriate workers receive healthcare access based on the company’s health care
policies. Some major companies provide Premium Access to healthcare in all government and
private hospitals. Many private companies provide decent healthcare coverage, whereas, many
small-scale trading companies, which is particularly dominated by manpower supply companies,
15. the healthcare provision is the worst. By law, all of them receive a national health card, which is
acceptable in public hospitals. Only very recently, Qatar has expanded health care services and
lots of investment and ambitions plans in place to advance the healthcare system. However, with,
the large influx of labours and with limited healthcare personnel unable to manage the increasing
numbers which led most of the laborers go untreated in time. Currently, there is only one hospital
in the Industrial Area for thousands of workers and that too it is not located in the heart of the
Industrial area which makes difficult to access as discussed below. Three new hospitals are
expected to open soon exclusively for the single workers [28]
Workers Health Center:
There is no rigorous scientific research on access and equality of health care of low-skilled
labours. Robust epidemiological and economics methodological tools are available for
measuring health inequalities, which is beyond the scope of the paper. So most of the
conclusions are based on my observation and interviews. This center is a partnership with
Hamad Medical Corporation and Red Crescent located at the far-end of Industrial Area in Street
-33. I visited the hospital and interviewed some of the workers about their experience. Some of
the extreme cases are noted: a) discrimination and inequality in treatment of low-skilled workers
are clearly noticed b) lack of access to national health cards and private insurance card. Due to
lack of statistics, it is hard to tell the number of workers without a national health insurance card.
Since they don’t have a health card, they were not allowed to utilize the treatment from the
hospital unless it is an emergency. The health care authorities don’t seem to understand the
reality; it is not the problem of the worker, but the employer. This constant deprivation of health
care access will turn fatal in the long-run. According to the Qatar National Vision -2030, …will
meet the needs of existing and future generations and provide for an increasingly healthy and
lengthy life for all citizens. All health services will be accessible to the entire population” [pg.
14, 29].
However, the white collar workers enjoy very good health care service, as most of the workers
get national and private health insurance cards that allow the white collar workers to access all
the private and public hospitals without any discrimination. The low-skilled labourers are
vulnerable to health risks because of their socioeconomic status, lifestyle, and harsh working and
living conditions. Overcrowding, poor sanitation, lack of ventilation increases the risk of
respiratory, gastrointestinal and dermatological disease. In Summer, many workers face heat-
related illnesses. Though most of the workers have access to water, quality and quantity of the
food vary depending upon the company. Some companies provide very good quality of nutritious
food, whereas, some workers cook on their own and in order to save food expenses, they opt for
low-nutrition food.
Labours without health cards visit a private hospital, which are very expensive and spend from
their own pocket. Providing health card is a basic responsibility of the employer. When we
asked further, why the company is not providing the card, one labour (from x company) says, ‘to
get the health card, it is 100QR, and the manager said, there are so many labours; it is impossible
16. to get health cards for all of you. Another labour said, “we paid 50 QR and the company paid 50
QR, and we got the card” Most of the time, the workers health center is overcrowded – each day
nearly 600 patients visit in each shift, that is, 1200 patients. The health center is closed on
Thursdays and Fridays, and the labours have to take a day off to visit the hospital to get regular
treatment, as well. This means every day off from the work; the salary is deducted. The timings
of the health center are unfriendly to the workers’ timings. Lack of transportation is another
major deterrent in using the health care services. The health centers are located far away from the
residential areas of workers. Transport is an additional cost to the health care expenses. Beyond
the Workers’ Health Center, labourers use Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and other private
hospitals. One of the advantages of treatment in HMC is multilingual doctors/nurses that bridge
the communication gap. Many labourers, however, express their concern about the long time
involved in getting the treatment.
The workers face fundamental challenges in accessing the health care. Though, the government
has embarked on new initiatives in their National Health Strategy by providing comprehensive
and integrated health care service to the Qataris and expatriates. The strategy falls short of
looking the health care of temporary workers, particularly the low-skilled.
Key Concerns:
a. Only one hospital in the Industrial Area for 50,000+ workers
b. Poor timings of healthcare centers
c. Lack of awareness about the health issues, particularly common among the low-skilled
labours
d. Lack of health cards for many workers deprived the opportunity of using the health
services. However, it is very difficult to track, which companies have provided the health
insurance cards. Companies have to be penalized if they don’t provide the basic national
health insurance card.
Recommendations:
a. Qatar National Health Strategy - People-centered: the right care, right place, right time.
We hope the Supreme Council of Health and Hamad Medical Corporation would take
urgent steps to increasing the healthcare access to all the workers.
b. Increasing number of hospitals in the area, where the majority of laborers resides with
specialized multilingual doctor/nurses.
c. Increasing awareness about the most common health issues in partnership with the
companies and civil society organizations
d. Opening up healthcare centers all the time so that, labourers can access at any point of
time.
e. Collection of disaggregated health data of the low-skilled labours will help to draft a
health policy framework.
17. Labour Governance:
Qatar is facing institutional and governance challenges in managing the huge influx of migrant
workers, particularly with a varied range of requirements and surprises. As an observer, I find,
the key issues are: inadequate governance structures, insufficient training of staff (on ground),
poor research capacity to do the analysis and lack of data (not just the number of labours). The
labour administration has to evolve constantly and adapt itself to adjust the labour dynamics
under the aegis of robust and flexible labour governance framework. Currently, labour policies
are designed in consultation with other ministries, but with a very limited consultation with
social partners like civil society groups, academia, labours etc. This makes the policies detached
from the reality. Most of the reports produced by the MoL is inaccessible due to security reasons
and the reports which are for the public, written in Arabic.
In the MoL website, duties of Work Inspection Department include:
1. monitor the implementation of labor legislation and the general plan of labor inspection.
2. conduct a sudden inspection.
3. advice and guide the employers in how to remove violations.
According to the MoL website, nearly 1224 private companies transaction was stopped because
of violating the labour code. However, there was no clear information what are the violations and
have they been penalized for any wrongdoing [30].
Despite the labours laws are in place, labour abuse is widespread. One of the main reasons is a
lack of enforcement of these laws – this applies to the big to small companies. Poor coverage of
the media and lack of civil society organizations makes it much easier to exploit the workers. In
some cases, the companies are run by wealthy and powerful Sheikhs and any complaint against
these companies will bring serious negative repercussions. Disclosing the blacklisted companies
is considered to be culturally unacceptable. Labour inspection is one area, where Qatar can
advance to enforce the labour laws. The number of labour inspectors is disproportionately small
(~150) in relation to the volume of migrant labours flowing in. According to labor ministry
officials, none of these inspectors speaks languages commonly spoken by workers in the country
and inspections do not include worker interviews [20]. Responding to the media critics, the
ministry of labour plan to double the number of inspectors [31]. The labour inspectors have a
difficulty in understanding the real situation of the workers and language barriers makes it worse.
One labour noted, “I try to explain the situation of my company, and he asked my resident permit
(Ihqama), which was expired one year back. The labour inspector, instead argued with us of not
renewing their resident permit”, and many labours from different camps have a similar story to
tell. Hence, this shows the labour inspectors have to be adequately trained and improve the
quality. The labour inspectors have to enforce indiscriminately sanctions and penalties, those
who don’t comply the national labour standards.
18. Recommendations:
a. With the widespread abuse of sponsorship system and poor safety records, it is vital to have
continuous and random labour inspection to curtail the violations and to penalize them
appropriately.
b. Providing adequate training to the labour inspectorate or other competent authorities (like the
members of the Al Fazaa group) about the migrant worker's rights (considering both men and
women) and also offering them guidance to lodge complaints, and seek solutions without
discrimination, intimidation and retaliation of firing from the job.
c. Surprise inspection of living and working conditions and random interviewing of labours,
whether they were paid on time and companies honoring Article-30 and labour law.
d. Even if there are illegal workers (expired resident permit, or working with the different
sponsor), they have to treat appropriately without violating human rights [32-33].
Regulation of Private Employment Agencies:
The role of regulation and monitoring is mutual, both the sending and receiving countries has
equal rights. There is a great responsibility for the governments of sending and receiving
countries to regulate the private employment agencies to curb the abuses. Most of the recruiting
process happens in liaison with the local manpower agency in Qatar because they are major
sources of labour supply to the big contractors in Qatar; where most of the labour abuses happen.
All manpower agencies have to be registered and licensed by the government agency and the list
of these agencies has to be publicly disseminated on the website by sending government. This
would help the employers in Qatar to screen the labours coming from the approved agencies.
However, in major sending countries like India, Pakistan, it is very difficult to monitor because
of the huge corruption involved and scale of the migration is unmanageable, the possibilities of
bypassing regulations are very high. In any case, continuous inspection and monitoring would
help reduce fraudulent practices. A cross-investigation with the incoming labours about their
recruiting process would enable us to know the success of this regulation and monitoring
practices. Trade unions and civil society organizations which are quite active in most of the
sending countries have a great role to play in spreading awareness about the abuses of manpower
agencies. In some cases, which is often not being discussed is bypassing the regulations by the
worker himself. The worker pays money of his own will to find economic opportunities and find
visa in the black market, which means, there are so many private individuals who sell visa on the
market to the highest bidder. These visas are called as “Free Visas” where the three-way
partnership exists – Qatari employer-middleman- employee. The visas are under a different
status like driver, cook, and once he arrives Qatar, he has the freedom to work any job, unlike the
conventional visas, issuance of NOC, exit permit when required, where the employee has to
work on the issued sponsor and has restrictions over the NOC and exit permit, as well.
19. Based on my interview with the staff from the Indian embassy, very little steps were taken to
avoid labour abuse and the seriousness of their initiatives is questionable. One labour from the
Indian Trading Company (the case which was discussed in detail from the recent report by
Amnesty International) argues that, ‘we visited the Indian Embassy several times, but no help
has received’
Noncompliance to the ILO convention of Private Employment Agencies Convention No. 181
(1997) or any legal framework by the manpower agencies should be subjected to differentiated
sanctions, penalty and/or the closure of the agency itself after administrative tribunals or through
the court of law. The differentiated sanction has to be treated cautiously – for instance, if the
agency has committed any malpractices for the first time and committed to avoiding further
misconduct; then the enforcing authority can provide advice for strict adherence to the
framework. If the agency finds guilty of repeated offense, then the authorities can withdraw the
license temporarily or permanently [34].
This process could be done in a similar way in Qatar but to the manpower supply companies in
Qatar. Moreover, Qatar can set up a repertoire with all the names of manpower supply
companies who are complying with the national and international regulation, and also the
agencies that are suspended, cancelled, banned and updating periodically. Qatar has already
taken steps in blacklisting the companies who are abusing the labours, but without mentioning
the companies name and this would not make much difference as the main contractors will
continue to use their service.
Setting up multiple complaint centers:
As discussed before, with the huge inflow of migrants, the current labour personnel fall short of
dealing with the rising number of complaints. However, there are many cases that go unreported
for various reasons: fear, intimidation, lack of confidence, lack of information about their rights
and about the organizations’ duties (like the role of Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs), and
inaccessibility. The whole issues are collectively discussed below. Most of the labours are afraid
of losing their jobs if their employer comes to know about the complaint and the intimidation by
the employers of deportation. Lack of education and awareness results in a lack of confidence to
speak with the authorities and to whom should we speak and what will be the response? As most
of the labours live in the industrial area, access to labour ministry or their respective embassies is
very difficult. The physical presence of grievance centers, embassy offices, and a police station
dealing labour issues exclusively. Also staffing with multilingual personnel with expertise in
dealing with labour issues. The centers should be located in the industrial area and other
locations where the majority of the labourers dwells.
Actions on the table:
Currently, there are so many baseless rumours spreading in the social media that there is no
protection for the labours at all. But there are some legal and policy instruments that indeed
20. protect the migrant labours; however, they are not comprehensive, which eventually leads to
exploitation and abuse. In this section, I’ll discuss some of the initiatives that government and
civil society organization has taken to restrain the wrongdoings. Civil society organizations
concerning the labor rights are very weak. So far, only the National Human Rights Committee
(NHRC) is vocal on this issue and constantly calls for more protection and policy change. NHRC
encourages the State of Qatar to ratify more international convention on human rights,
particularly, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant
of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which are crucial to protect the rights of migrant
labours. The NHRC receives complaints of violations and abuses of human rights and provides
legal guidance, advice and recommendations. At times, they resolve the complaints amicably and
in another case; they direct to concerned authorities to take necessary legal actions. In 2013,
NHRC issued a guide to workers’ temporary accommodation, which is widely coordinated and
approved by the ministerial body. This guide is the first step in the right direction and addresses
some of the key improvements relative to the existing workers' accommodation. Execution and
continuous monitoring are key. One lesson to be learned from the QF’s Workers’ Charter
(discussed below) and their way of executing is – a contractual agreement. All the bidders have
to approve the Workers' Charter, without which, the bid can be rejected. A similar approach can
be promoted at the national level, complying with the NHRC standards. NHRC aims to create
awareness about the workers rights by publishing a small booklet (or guide); which contains the
necessary information like, things to do before leaving Qatar and after arriving in Qatar, the roles
of workers, and the rights of workers that labour law is granted (in simpler terms) [35]. I find two
major issues with this booklet- effectiveness: a) it is written in English, most of the labours
doesn’t read English, and b) the distribution of this booklet is limited only on occasions like
Book Fairs, Labour Day, etc. This distribution is mostly happening in the city, whereas the
majority of workers resides in the Industrial Area. During my interviews, I showed this booklet
to the workers, and unsurprisingly, not many of them are aware of it. The sole purpose is
defeated if it doesn’t cater to the need for targeted groups.
In the year 2009 alone, NHRC has received 1012 complaints, out of which 243 complaints are
transfer of sponsorship. Similarly, in 2010, among the 791 received complaints, 220 complaints
concerning the transfer of sponsorship or resident permit renewal. These sheer numbers of
complaints show the widespread abuse by the employers [36].
Qatar Foundation for Combating Human Trafficking (QFCHT) is another private organization
helping to combat trafficking issues in Qatar. Since 2008, it has achieved progress at many
fronts, spread awareness about the trafficking and methods of combating, supporting the
trafficked and vulnerable individuals, etc. The Foundation offers a range of services for all target
groups in their work and non-target including legal assistance (legal advice, a lawyer, filing
complaints at police stations, lawsuits before the competent courts, The organization took the
initiative in creating a regional framework to combat trafficking and encouraging the government
of Qatar to ratify all international and regional conventions and protocols. However, QFCHT
21. helps absconded domestic labours who are suffering from sexual and physical abuse, provide
temporary food and shelter, and resolve the conflicts through legal procedures. QFCHT partners
with other organizations like the Ministry of Interior (MoI), Supreme Judicial Council, Ministry
of Justice (MoJ), and Ministry of Labour (MoL). They direct the complaints to the concerned
organizations and follow-up with all the cases. QFCHT provides advice to the MoI and other
related organization like the Search and Follow-up Administration, Security Centers, and the
Courts about the concept of trafficking. The authorities in the above organization are unaware,
what comprises human trafficking.
In 2011-2012, QFCHT received 418 cases, nearly 67% were males and rest were females.
Among which, 54% were looking for legal advice, followed by 9% of selling false visas, 7% for
bonded and 5% for forced labour. Nearly 64% of the complaints received are from labourers,
followed by 15% of the domestic workers [37].
QFCHT organizes several focus group meetings and campaigns to spread awareness of human
trafficking, but most of the awareness campaigns are not again serving the purpose. It happens
mostly in the city and publishing materials in English/Arabic, where the majority of the workers
can’t read. Translating into multiple languages and distributing the booklets in each
accommodation would help raise the awareness.
Ministry of Labour received 6592 complaints in 2011-2012 and the majority of the complaints
are return tickets, delayed wages, end of service gratuity, leave allowance, etc. Most of the
complaints are a combination of issues like return ticket and delayed wages as shown in figure 3.
This shows the widespread non-compliance with the labour law [37].
22. Role of Embassies:
The sending countries, particularly South Asian countries are very poor in protecting their
workers, and they are more concerned about the remittances it receives and its economic
benefits. The lack of seriousness in the sending countries, particularly, in India is very
unfortunate and makes the labour more vulnerable as all the doors are closed to them. One
incident is telling, in the last few months; Saudi Arabia is cracking down illegal migrant workers
and deporting back to their countries. There were total 56000+ Indian workers fall into this
category though the response from the Indian government is swift, but there was no request to
treat labours with dignity and respect. Salman Khurshid, the Foreign Minister argues, we may
have economic ramifications in terms of remittances.
In a country like Qatar, where no official representation for workers, embassies are the only
hope. A safe haven to protect from abuses, unfortunately, the role of embassies (particularly, the
South and South-East Asian) in Qatar is subdued. The work of the embassy is limited to
economic cooperation and other legal affairs. My recent experience with Indian embassy
surfaced the structural weakness and unable to exercise its diplomatic right to voice for the
migrant labours. The Indian government’s negligence towards the abuses of workers in Qatar
exhibit carelessness and lack of seriousness. The Indian Benevolent Forum is a voluntary arm of
the Indian embassy to oversee all the complaints and to offer some financial assistance. The
response to the complaints dwarfs relatively to the complaints received. During my interviews,
one worker from the ITC company broken out with tears and said, ‘our own people has betrayed
25%
24%
21%
21%
7%
0%
2%
Fig 3. Complaints - MoL- 2011-2012
Return tickets Delayed wages End of service gratuity
Leave Allowance Overtime wages Arbitrary dismissal
Other
23. us, the Indian embassy is of no use, nobody listens to us. Where should we go?”. This sentiment
was echoed by many other workers who are the victims of abuse by different companies. The
common consensus among the labours is; lack of effective actions to criminalize the
unscrupulous private employment agencies, no action to enforce decent working standards
among the Indian companies, lack of adequate support for the workers, and unfair treatment
within their own embassy. Based on the informal figures, more than 20% of the population in
Qatar are the Indians, and the majority of them are semi-skilled and low-skilled labors. But the
size of the personnel and office capacity to receive complaints is very low. The Indian embassy
is reactive instead of being proactive to protect the labourers and extending their effort and
outreach to all segments of the population. Hence there is no association or representative group
of migrant workers, the embassy has to step in to spread awareness about their right that the
Qatar government has bestowed (though, the rights are very minimum) and abilities to exercise
it. The Indian embassy is located in the city, which makes most of the labours to travel to the
embassy and file a complaint.
According to the Article 3 (b) of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations [38], the
function of diplomatic mission includes;
• protecting in the receiving State the interests of the sending State and of its nationals,
within the limits permitted by international law;
The word ‘interests’ is very misleading and vague, is the interest of the State is just to boost
economic cooperation or political stability or it includes the rights of workers too?
Unfortunately, the Indian government performs its duties very well for the former two at the cost
of latter one.
There are many layers, where the embassy can bring a positive change:
a. A strong endorsement of bilateral and multilateral framework to protect the workers and
considering as a shared responsibility [39-40]
b. Coordination with all the local ministries and civil society groups to create awareness
about the workers' rights and intervene wherever possible.
c. Enforce strict regulations and constantly monitor if the companies are in compliance with
the national, bilateral, and international standards.
Best Practices:
Many multinational, government and semi-government organizations strictly adhere to the
labour law and workers enjoy decent working conditions, remuneration, and provide NOC and
exit permit whenever needed. Some organizations are very progressive and benchmark with
international standards. In this section, I selected two organizations that are proactive in setting
up stronger regulations and standards that are equivalent to international standards. If these
24. models are replicated in all the companies, labour abuse and violation of human rights can be
minimized substantially and bring positive development for the nation as well as for the workers.
The government has a major role to play – acknowledge those who execute the best practices and
penalize those who violate the basic human rights.
Qatar Foundations’ Workers Charter:
Immediately after winning FIFA bid, Qatar Foundation led a new initiative – Migrant Workers’
Welfare initiative - to create a framework and prescriptive standards to protect the workers and
encourage ethical practices for their upcoming construction projects. After two years of
comprehensive research with a dedicated team, QF produced a workers’ charter called QF
Mandatory Standards of Migrant Workers’ Welfare for Contractors & Sub-Contractors [41],
which is in line with the national labour law and ILO conventions, except two factors – right to
form associations and unions and collective bargaining – which is constitutionally banned. This
charter is clear, concise, prescriptive and comprehensive contain key components like –
a. Fundamental principles ( dignity of workers, intolerance to forced, compulsory and
bonded labour, fair employment practices, decent living and working environment,
equality of treatment, and complete authority to exercise their rights)
b. Recruitment Standards (ethical recruitment principles, registered and approved
recruitment agencies)
c. Employment Standards (Contract, fair treatment in terms of wages, working hours, food,
medical insurance, counseling and training services, repatriation and end of service,
transportation facilities, food safety, accommodation etc.)
This initiative has created a QF Workers’ Charter is officially in place from April 2013. Besides,
the Charter is a great point to start with and at times, it looks idealistic. However, the QF Capital
Projects (a separate office to monitor all the construction works of Qatar) said in total
confidence, with all the new construction projects, the bidders will be approved, only when they
approve the Workers' Charter, else the bidder will not be selected. In fact, QF authorities can do
random visits to their site, accommodations to investigate the working and living conditions, and
if the contractor or sub-contractor failed to comply with the standards, then QF will advise or
suspend the contractor based on the severity of the situation. It is a good move and gives more
authority from the client side to pay greater attention to workers' rights, their living conditions,
safety and protection, etc. Though, there are inherent challenges in implementing it, particularly
when the chain of contractors goes to the lowest level and monitoring becomes extremely
difficult. These small contractors struggle to get contracts and the lowest bidder was awarded-
unable to compromise the quality, the labour cost is often targeted (as like many multinational
operate by exporting their business in cheap-labour countries). In these circumstances, providing
all the facilities, as stipulated in the Workers’ Charter would be extremely difficult.
There is a big trade-off in executing this charter, particularly, the client will accept the cheapest
bid at the same time getting the work done. In order to provide all the facilities given in the
25. Charter, the labour charges will eventually increase, which in turn, the chances of winning the
bid is very low. However, it is true that, many clients, for instance, like the Qatar Foundation,
provides 5000 QR for each worker, but the contracting company keeps a high profit margin and
pays the wage of 1000QR including food and accommodation expenses.
One must understand; it is a very long process, what Qatar Foundation is trying to bring is a
cultural shift in the way business is done. Though, Qatar government puts strict regulations on
safety standards but failed to emphasize on ethical standards that each company has adhered to.
This change requires time, reorienting the mindset of big clients and corporations. It would be
unfair to force smaller companies to bring the changes overnight. A mutual cooperation between
the client-contractor and strong government intervention, wherever necessary in implementing
these ethical standards is key to achieve a positive labor environment.
Qatari Diar:
Qatari Diar Real Estate Company established in 2005 by the Qatar Investment Authority, the
sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar. Major projects are underway and receive many
accolades for unique approaches in the construction sector. With the growing criticism of the
labour abuse, Qatari Diar is proactive in taking effective steps in safeguarding the rights of
labours. QD has maintained a high level of standards for all the workers and sets initial
guidelines, which are comprehensive in nature – covers all aspect like food quality, hygiene,
health, salary payments, etc. QD in their contract emphasizes the importance of protection of
labours and calls for strict adherence to the standards. It goes further to terminate the contractors
and sub-contractors if they don’t comply the standards. When it comes to labour issues,
particularly to the main contractors and enforce them to comply those guidelines. QD has a big
team of experts monitoring the health and safety of the workers on the site as well as in the
dwelling places. This initiative is very important, and this continuous and surprise inspection
would minimize labour abuses and in order to secure the contract, contractors and sub-
contractors have to safeguard the wellbeing of workers. “We will not accept any form of abuse
on the site and off the site,” says Salem Rashid Al-Kuwari, Sr. Director- HSE, Qatari Diar [42].
As noted before, Qatari Diar took notable steps to curb exploitation of labours, they have added
new clauses in their upcoming contracts as part of their Safety Regulation Standards; every
contractor and sub-contractor have to abide and subject to termination, if the contractor failed to
comply.
LREDC Human Rights Protection [43]
Lusail maintains the authority to raise an NCR to the contractor in the instance where evidence
of human rights violations or non-payment of salaries to workers is evident.
Explanation:
26. Human rights: Include but not limited to arrangements for,
Nature of work contract incl. duration, salary, working hours est.
Workers establishments, incl. lodging conditions, basic furniture, toilets, drinking water
est.
Work place matters incl. communication, safety, fire protection, a work tool, equipment
est.
Additional information available, Qatar National Human rights Committee –
Workers Rights Book June 2009
Non-payment of salaries: Not receiving payment from the employer for the agreed period of
time for work performed on LREDC
Evidence: Any documentation, statements or investigation supporting non-conformance.
Conclusions:
Qatar is in the international spotlight and under constant threat of withdrawal of the FIFA games
if we don’t respect the workers’ rights. It is imperative to make structural amendments in the
policies to protect the workers. Lately, the Qatar government has shown the commitment and
improving its institutional capacity to address this issue seriously. We have discussed the
prevalent abuse of workers in many forms and violation of national and international laws.
Various recommendations are proposed. To sum up:
a. Ratification of all the major ILO conventions and enforcing them
b. Safeguarding the rights of workers and treat them with respect and dignity.
c. Systematic elimination of Kafala system and exit permit
d. Improving job mobility by removing the NOC system
e. Minimizing the labour abuse through various instruments in partnership with all the
relevant stakeholders
f. Increasing the basic wages for all the low-skilled and unskilled workers
g. Penalizing the employers of not honoring the Article 30 and labour law
h. Improving the living conditions of workers and penalizing the employers of not adhering
to the NHRC standards and ensure adequate health and safety standards at workplace
i. Avoiding any laws that segregate and discriminate the low-skilled workers and integrate
them in the development process
j. Increasing the quality and quantity of labour inspectors
k. Regulating the manpower agencies and setting up strict guidelines
l. Setting up bilateral and multilateral framework for the protection of workers
m. Improving the health care system for low-skilled workers
n. Establishing strong social security arrangements for the permanent workers and creating
job opportunities for their family members and permission to stay beyond the retirement
o. Creating multiple complaint centers with worker-friendly multilingual personnel and
accelerating the response to the complaints
27. Acknowledgement:
I would like to thank Mr. Mubasshir Ahmed for his support in interviewing the workers. I thank
Dr. Richard Leete for offering me this opportunity.
Postscript:
During the time of the writing, the QF’s Migrant Labour Recruitment to Qatar is not published
and many other initiatives were planned and it is difficult to assess the effectiveness based on the
“planned document.”
References:
1. http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/07/24/228145.html, accessed 10th
Nov, 2013.
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![the national labour workforce, but in the case of Qatar (and other GCC countries) the expatriate
community outnumbers in every sector, except public administration and defense. This shows
the role of migrant labours in the Qatar’s development and there is no sign of abating as the
economy and infrastructure is expanding. The migrant population has tripled in the last decade,
and this is phenomenal in the region and globally. In order to build the World Cup infrastructure,
Qatar needs over 1 million labourers [1]. The average annual growth of total migrant labourers,
semi-skilled and unskilled labourers over the period of 2004-2012 is 14.7%, 17.7% and 13.7%
respectively. (QSA, 2013) [2]
The low-skilled workers are mostly in the construction sector contributing for half a million, and
this is the primary source of income for the majority of South Asian labours. Economic
opportunities and escape from conflicts are the important factors that bring the labours to the
Arab world. Qatar has provided job opportunities for thousands of citizens and some of them
have served more than 30 years, particularly citizens from India, Pakistan, Palestine and other
countries. However, there is no accurate number in this regard. According to the UN population
division (UNPD) estimates, Qatar tops number one in number of the migrant population
compared to the total population as shown in the figure 1a. There is a phenomenal annual growth
of the migrant population, ranging from 2 percent in the early 1990-1995 to 12 percent in 2005-
2010 as shown in figure 1b and table 1. This phenomenon will continue to grow for at least the
next decade. This shows that the expatriate community remains instrumental to the Qatar’s
development and protecting their rights and empowering them would bring positive change in
the society.
Fig 1a. Countries or areas with the highest proportion of international migrants in 2010 among
those with at least one million inhabitants [3]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)