Labour law and changes in sponsorship rules Thursday, 24 February 2011 01:21

Under the title ‘Sponsorship System - Consequences and Solutions’ Qatar University organized a workshop in which the academics spoke about the conditions of expatriate workers in Qatar and presented suggestions regarding the transfer of sponsorship of the residents of the State. A number of people who were interested in the Labour Law and the law of sponsorship attended the programme. The speakers stressed that the sponsorship system made labourers subject to compulsory work and highlighted the need for the Labour Law to fit with the international standards, whereas the participants pointed out the existence of a gap between the Labour Law and Sponsorship Act. It stated the necessary administrative supervision for the implementation of the laws on the ground is weak and this affects the rights of migrant workers and refers it to the justice of the sponsor, his personal nature. The participants reminded that the Labour Law overlooked some details of the rights of workers, especially regarding the issue of determining the level of wages and housing.

The symposium focused that the restriction of freedom of movement of the sponsored workers from one work to another according to the sponsor system makes them subject to compulsory work and it also makes the countries of the region subject to some international accusations because of following the sponsorship system and facilitating the transfer or lending from one work to another except under specific conditions in addition to the continued seizure of the passports of the sponsored workers by some sponsors even though it is contrary to the provisions of the new Sponsorship Act No. 4 / 2009.

In this context Dr Hanan pointed out the international appeals and in particular the call of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights “Ms Navi Pillay” when she visited the countries of Persian Gulf in 2010, to cancel the sponsorship system under the pretext that it is one of the forms of slavery which was banned by international conventions and it steals foreign workers’ basic rights such as the right of movement and travel or change of jobs, which is contrary to the provisions of international legitimacy for human rights.

She pointed to the recent trends of the Gulf countries aiming to keep pace with global developments and demands regarding the abolition of this system.

She also noted the importance of study of idea to abolish the sponsorship system for certain categories of foreign workers, provided the commitment of this category with the laws and the cleanness of the security registration of it so that these workers get the right to sponsor themselves. She also pointed out the study of idea of bringing the State in place of the individual sponsor.

For the State of Qatar in particular there is a need to work on the recruitment standards in a way that they are compatible with what exist in the state during the coming years as Qatar’s projects to stage the World Cup will need tens of thousands of human resources and trained workforce.

In this direction, Dr Kaltham Ghanim - Professor in Sociology at the University of Qatar also focused on the issue in the worksheet which she submitted under the title “Overview on the situation of expatriate workers in Qatar”

She pointed out the need for harmonisation between the Labour Act and the sponsorship system by reducing some of the powers granted to the sponsor, providing the requirements for the adequate housing and medical services for workers, setting up the concepts of human rights, settling the same in the relationship between the employer and workers and reducing the wage levels in the construction sector as well as there is the need to raise the wage levels in view of the price levels in the country. She said that the symposium aims to diagnose and analyze the conditions of expats in Qatar and to diagnose the economic and social effects of immigration on society and the country, discuss the sponsorship system with its pros and cons and make proposals to improve the conditions of workers in order that this category and the community achieve the common interests while ensuring the rights for both sides. She noted that the themes of the workshop include the evaluation of conditions of workers, the evaluation of laws of recruitment, employment and the sponsorship system, the conformity of the sponsorship system with the principles of human rights, the social and economic impacts of migrant workers and point of view of Qatari people and families about the sponsorship system as well as the recommendations about the sponsorship system.

In light of what has been aforesaid she talked about the most important difficulties and problems faced by workers

As she pointed out the reports of the Department of Labour and the National Commission for Human Rights which tells about the existence of differences with the sponsor and most of which revolve around the delayed payment of salary. In this situation worker finds himself without any work, salary and passport and he cannot work for other company or exercise his right to move from one job to another or even his right to return to his homeland.

The facts indicate that in case of demand by the worker for his rights he is subjected to detention in the custody for deportation, wait for a term which may last for more than one year to consider his case before the courts and the payment of fees to the expert although the text in the Labour Law emphasises on the consideration of the labour issues quickly without court fees.

In the construction sector a field study on the workers revealed about the long working hours, poor housing, high number of residents per room, delayed payment of wages, lack of safety requirements such as equipments, fire extinguishers and clothes, low levels of wages in the construction sector, dissatisfaction of the labour with the wage levels, disparity in pay levels between nationalities and low awareness among workers because of the low level of education which encourages the employment offices on their exploitation.

She also noted that most of the workers borrow money to pay to the employment offices in their home countries in order to come to Qatar for employment and considering the desire of workers to secure the job they do not expose to assaults which they are exposed to sometimes. They live in a small room and use one toilet. There is a dearth of services in the workplace, such as lack of drinking water, toilets and meals and the lack of some medical services in some big labour complexes as well as the lack of safety procedures and lack of awareness of the workers in spite of the dangers of profession in which they work.

In addition to the ignorance of workers about the Labour Laws and lack of awareness even of the existence of an employment contract between them and the sponsor. Most of the workers do not even know to whom should they approach in the event of a dispute with the sponsor. In most of the cases the problems of delay in salary are solved when the workers move to the Department of Labour.

Problems of businessmen

Dr Kaltham Ghanim added that most important problems faced by employers are related to the housing and the differences that arise between workers of different nationalities when they live in one place, but they are solved in a friendly way with the intervention of one of the supervisors of the affairs of the workers. The main problem complained by everyone is related to the escape of the worker, after the acquisition of experience in the work and he prefers to flee to another company or turns into a “free market”. The Department of Labour decides to impose fine on the company when it detains the runaway worker.