Qatar likely to reform controversial labor system - MIDEAST

Qatar likely to reform controversial labor system - MIDEAST:



"Qatar is preparing a radical overhaul of its controversial “kafala” or labor sponsorship system in response to mounting criticism that threatens the reputation capital it hopes to gain from hosting the 2022 World Cup.



The expected reform is likely to include shifting sponsorship of foreign workers, who constitute a majority of the tiny Gulf state’s population, from individual employers to the government. It would also allow workers to seek alternative employment without permission of their sponsor after a period of notification. Qatar would further work with the major supplying countries to establish regulated employment agencies to cut out corrupt middlemen.



It was not immediately clear whether the‎ changes once announced would satisfy international trade unions and human rights groups that have denounced the kafala system as modern day slavery and called for its abolition."



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