In a significant development and major relief for millions of migrant workers, Saudi Arabia has officially announced to end of the Kafala System, providing more freedom and rights to work in the country. The plan to end the Kafala labour system was announced in June as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's 'Vision 2030', a multi-trillion-dollar plan to clean the reputation of the country to attract foreign investors, including the 2029 Asian Winter Games, and reforms.<h3>What is the kafala system?</h3>The five-decade-old Kafala labour sponsorship system, which had been in place in Saudi Arabia and much of the Middle East, was an inhuman control over employees, which included the seizure of travel documents and the decision on when they could change their jobs or leave the country.&nbsp;This system was introduced in the 1950s to regulate the flow of skilled and unskilled foreign workers from India and other Southeast Asian nations. To prevent the local economy from being overwhelmed by cheap labour, every incoming worker was 'tied' to a kafeel, a sponsor who could be either an individual or a company.&nbsp;This kafeel held extensive authority over the workers’ lives, deciding their place of employment, controlling their wages, and even determining where they could live.&nbsp;More disturbingly, workers were barred from filing abuse complaints without their sponsor’s approval — a clause that seemed both illogical and unjust. Although conditions were somewhat better for skilled or white-collar employees, the system drew widespread criticism from labour and human rights organisations.<h3>How the kafala system will affect the Indian labourers</h3>The end of this system is a landmark move in Gulf labour reforms, aligning with international human rights standards and responding to long-standing pressures from human rights organisations like the International Labour Organisation (ILO), but it has significantly affected around 2.3 to 2.6 million Indian migrant workers residing and working in the kingdom. In addition, it is expected to affect nearly 13 million foreign workers overall, with Indians being the largest expatriate worker group.&nbsp;No matter how exploited they were, and now finally received relief, but due to this system, Indian workers were getting more jobs as compared to other nations, resulting in a record of receiving a high amount of remittance for India. Based on the last reported fiscal year (2023-24), Saudi Arabia accounted for approximately 6.7 per cent of India's total inward remittances.&nbsp;Despite gaining more freedom and mobility, workers may still face challenges in securing new jobs, as individual sponsors might feel uncertain or hesitant about hiring foreign labourers easily without any terms and conditions.

This system was introduced in the 1950s to regulate the flow of skilled and unskilled foreign workers from India and other Southeast Asian nations. To prevent the local economy from being overwhelmed by cheap labour, every incoming worker was 'tied' to a kafeel.

In a significant development and major relief for millions of migrant workers, Saudi Arabia has officially announced to end of the Kafala System, providing more freedom and rights to work in the country. The plan to end the Kafala labour system was announced in June as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's 'Vision 2030', a multi-trillion-dollar plan to clean the reputation of the country to attract foreign investors, including the 2029 Asian Winter Games, and reforms. What is the kafala system? The five-decade-old Kafala labour sponsorship system, which had been in place in Saudi Arabia and much of the Middle East, was an inhuman control over employees, which included the seizure of travel documents and the decision on when they could change their jobs or leave the country. This system was introduced in the 1950s to regulate the flow of skilled and unskilled foreign workers from India and other Southeast Asian nations. To prevent the local economy from being overwhelmed by cheap labour, every incoming worker was 'tied' to a kafeel, a sponsor who could be either an individual or a company. This kafeel held extensive authority over the workers’ lives, deciding their place of employment, controlling their wages, and even determining where they could live. More disturbingly, workers were barred from filing abuse complaints without their sponsor’s approval — a clause that seemed both illogical and unjust. Although conditions were somewhat better for skilled or white-collar employees, the system drew widespread criticism from labour and human rights organisations. How the kafala system will affect the Indian labourers The end of this system is a landmark move in Gulf labour reforms, aligning with international human rights standards and responding to long-standing pressures from human rights organisations like the International Labour Organisation (ILO), but it has significantly affected around 2.3 to 2.6 million Indian migrant workers residing and working in the kingdom. In addition, it is expected to affect nearly 13 million foreign workers overall, with Indians being the largest expatriate worker group. No matter how exploited they were, and now finally received relief, but due to this system, Indian workers were getting more jobs as compared to other nations, resulting in a record of receiving a high amount of remittance for India. Based on the last reported fiscal year (2023-24), Saudi Arabia accounted for approximately 6.7 per cent of India's total inward remittances. Despite gaining more freedom and mobility, workers may still face challenges in securing new jobs, as individual sponsors might feel uncertain or hesitant about hiring foreign labourers easily without any terms and conditions.

This system was introduced in the 1950s to regulate the flow of skilled and unskilled foreign workers from India and other Southeast Asian nations. To prevent the local economy from being overwhelmed by cheap labour, every incoming worker was 'tied' to a kafeel.

What is Kafala system? Saudi Arabia abolishes labour system that can affect 2.3 million Indian workers

Saudi Arabia has abolished its controversial Kafala system. The decision was announced on Wednesday by the Kingdom’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.

The ministry said it will remove restrictions tying millions of low-paid and vulnerable migrant workers to their employers, which had often led to abuse and exploitation. Called the Labor Relation Initiative, the reforms will come into effect in March 2021.

The plans, to take effect in March 2021, aim to make the Saudi labour market more attractive, the deputy minister for human resources said, by granting foreign workers the right to change jobs and leave the country without employers’ permission.

“Through this initiative, we aim to build an attractive labour market and improve the working environment,” Abdullah bin Nasser Abuthunain told reporters.

Saudi Arabia, which chairs the Group of 20 major economies (G20) this year, is seeking to boost its private sector, part of an ambitious plan to diversify its oil-dependent economy.

The move will help attract high-skilled workers and help create more jobs for Saudi nationals, Sattam Alharbi, deputy minister for development of the work environment, told Reuters in a phone interview, adding that hiring would be based on workers’ efficiency.

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 reform plan is a package of economic and social policies designed to free the kingdom from reliance on oil exports.

The currently applicable kafala system generally binds a migrant worker to one employer. Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have been calling on Saudi authorities to end that system which leaves workers vulnerable to abuses.

“The term kafala does not officially exist in Saudi labour laws since more than 20 years ago; however, there were many wrong practices of it that helped breach the contractual relation,” Alharbi said.

The new initiative will base the relationship between employers and workers on a standard contract that should be certified by the government and will allow workers to apply directly for services via an e-government portal, instead of a mandatory employers’ approval.

The ministry aims to certify the contracts of all foreign workers by the end of the first quarter of 2021.

(With inputs from agencies)

Saudi Arabia has abolished its controversial Kafala system. The decision was announced on Wednesday by the Kingdom’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.

Saudi Arabia has abolished its controversial Kafala system. The decision was announced on Wednesday by the Kingdom’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. The ministry said it will remove restrictions tying millions of low-paid and vulnerable migrant workers to their employers, which had often led to abuse and exploitation. Called the Labor Relation Initiative, the reforms will come into effect in March 2021. The plans, to take effect in March 2021, aim to make the Saudi labour market more attractive, the deputy minister for human resources said, by granting foreign workers the right to change jobs and leave the country without employers’ permission. “Through this initiative, we aim to build an attractive labour market and improve the working environment,” Abdullah bin Nasser Abuthunain told reporters. Saudi Arabia, which chairs the Group of 20 major economies (G20) this year, is seeking to boost its private sector, part of an ambitious plan to diversify its oil-dependent economy. The move will help attract high-skilled workers and help create more jobs for Saudi nationals, Sattam Alharbi, deputy minister for development of the work environment, told Reuters in a phone interview, adding that hiring would be based on workers’ efficiency. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 reform plan is a package of economic and social policies designed to free the kingdom from reliance on oil exports. The currently applicable kafala system generally binds a migrant worker to one employer. Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have been calling on Saudi authorities to end that system which leaves workers vulnerable to abuses. “The term kafala does not officially exist in Saudi labour laws since more than 20 years ago; however, there were many wrong practices of it that helped breach the contractual relation,” Alharbi said. The new initiative will base the relationship between employers and workers on a standard contract that should be certified by the government and will allow workers to apply directly for services via an e-government portal, instead of a mandatory employers’ approval. The ministry aims to certify the contracts of all foreign workers by the end of the first quarter of 2021. (With inputs from agencies)

End to 'kafala slavery': Saudi Arabia announces major labour reforms

Lebanon has approved a new work contract allowing foreign domestic workers to resign and keep hold of their own passport, but activists say the exploitative "kafala" system remains in place.

The economic crisis-hit Mediterranean country is home to around 250,000 migrants, mostly women from Africa and Asia, who toil away in people's homes as housekeepers, carers or nannies.

They are not protected by the country's labour law, but instead work under a set of laws, policies and customs called kafala repeatedly slammed by rights groups as allowing a wide range of abuse.

Under kafala, meaning "sponsorship" in Arabic, the employer sponsors the worker's legal immigration status in the country, and the latter cannot resign without their consent or they become undocumented. The law also does not ban withholding a worker's passport.

All this leaves a worker at the employer's mercy.

Lebanon's economic and coronavirus crises have increased the urgency for reform over the past year, with many families now paying their workers in the devaluated local currency, and some not at all.

In recent months, dozens of foreign helpers have been thrown out into the streets without due pay or even their passport, many of them interviewed by AFP.

After the August 4 blast at Beirut port that devastated swathes of the capital and killed more than 190 people, foreign workers have staged rallies outside their consulates appealing to be sent home.

The labour ministry finally this month published a new and revised work contract for domestic workers, the main legal document governing their stay in Lebanon.

- Private room, holidays -

Outgoing labour minister Lamia Yammine has said the new contract -- to replace a 2009 version -- "abolishes the kafala system".

Campaigners have welcomed the detailed five-page document outlining workers' rights, but say it is only a beginning.

"It is no doubt a much better version than the older one," said Amnesty International researcher Diala Haidar. But "a contract alone doesn't end kafala."

Most importantly, the new contract gives the workers the right to resign and change employers, and says they can keep their passport.

If their employer withholds their wages or passport, they can immediately quit without notice.

It finally gives the worker the right to the national minimum wage of 675,000 pounds ($450 before the crisis, less than $100 at the black market rate) -- albeit allowing the substraction of an undetermined amount to cover food, board and clothes.

The new contract states workers must be provided with a private, well-ventilated room with a key, an improvement after many women said they were forced to sleep in the living room or on a balcony.

It limits labour to eight hours a day in a six-day week, and details the right to daily rest, paid holidays and sick leave.

- Ink on paper? -

But activists warn that all these new provisions will amount to nothing without inspections and unless employers violating the agreement are held accountable.

"In the absence of an enforcement mechanism, this contract will remain ink on paper," Haidar said.

The old contract, for example, states the worker must receive their wages at the end of the month, but this had not stopped some from kicking out workers without pay.

"We haven't seen any employers held to account for this breach of the contract," she said.

A Beirut housewife, who employs a Filipina domestic worker, insisted there are two sides to the story.

"The employer needs to keep at least one document as security... I know some employers are bad but also some employees are ungrateful," the 59-year-old said, asking not to be named.

Rights groups have documented manifold abuses over the years, including no day off, locking workers inside the house, and physical or sexual assault.

Activists have reported up to two deaths a week.

They have repeatedly called for an end to kafala, which is common in the Middle East and often compared to modern-day slavery.

Zeina Mezher of the International Labour Organization (ILO) called the new contract "one step in the right direction" towards dismantling kafala.

But it's just "the first step on a road that is still complicated", she said.

She said support was needed to ensure a worker could resign without losing their residency permit.

Activists have also called for parliament to amend the labour law to bring all domestic workers -- Lebanese and foreign -- under its protection, and give them the right to set up unions.

Lebanon has approved a new work contract allowing foreign domestic workers to resign and keep hold of their own passport, but activists say the exploitative "kafala" system remains in place.

Lebanon has approved a new work contract allowing foreign domestic workers to resign and keep hold of their own passport, but activists say the exploitative "kafala" system remains in place. The economic crisis-hit Mediterranean country is home to around 250,000 migrants, mostly women from Africa and Asia, who toil away in people's homes as housekeepers, carers or nannies. They are not protected by the country's labour law, but instead work under a set of laws, policies and customs called kafala repeatedly slammed by rights groups as allowing a wide range of abuse. Under kafala, meaning "sponsorship" in Arabic, the employer sponsors the worker's legal immigration status in the country, and the latter cannot resign without their consent or they become undocumented. The law also does not ban withholding a worker's passport. All this leaves a worker at the employer's mercy. Lebanon's economic and coronavirus crises have increased the urgency for reform over the past year, with many families now paying their workers in the devaluated local currency, and some not at all. In recent months, dozens of foreign helpers have been thrown out into the streets without due pay or even their passport, many of them interviewed by AFP. After the August 4 blast at Beirut port that devastated swathes of the capital and killed more than 190 people, foreign workers have staged rallies outside their consulates appealing to be sent home. The labour ministry finally this month published a new and revised work contract for domestic workers, the main legal document governing their stay in Lebanon. - Private room, holidays - Outgoing labour minister Lamia Yammine has said the new contract -- to replace a 2009 version -- "abolishes the kafala system". Campaigners have welcomed the detailed five-page document outlining workers' rights, but say it is only a beginning. "It is no doubt a much better version than the older one," said Amnesty International researcher Diala Haidar. But "a contract alone doesn't end kafala." Most importantly, the new contract gives the workers the right to resign and change employers, and says they can keep their passport. If their employer withholds their wages or passport, they can immediately quit without notice. It finally gives the worker the right to the national minimum wage of 675,000 pounds ($450 before the crisis, less than $100 at the black market rate) -- albeit allowing the substraction of an undetermined amount to cover food, board and clothes. The new contract states workers must be provided with a private, well-ventilated room with a key, an improvement after many women said they were forced to sleep in the living room or on a balcony. It limits labour to eight hours a day in a six-day week, and details the right to daily rest, paid holidays and sick leave. - Ink on paper? - But activists warn that all these new provisions will amount to nothing without inspections and unless employers violating the agreement are held accountable. "In the absence of an enforcement mechanism, this contract will remain ink on paper," Haidar said. The old contract, for example, states the worker must receive their wages at the end of the month, but this had not stopped some from kicking out workers without pay. "We haven't seen any employers held to account for this breach of the contract," she said. A Beirut housewife, who employs a Filipina domestic worker, insisted there are two sides to the story. "The employer needs to keep at least one document as security... I know some employers are bad but also some employees are ungrateful," the 59-year-old said, asking not to be named. Rights groups have documented manifold abuses over the years, including no day off, locking workers inside the house, and physical or sexual assault. Activists have reported up to two deaths a week. They have repeatedly called for an end to kafala, which is common in the Middle East and often compared to modern-day slavery. Zeina Mezher of the International Labour Organization (ILO) called the new contract "one step in the right direction" towards dismantling kafala. But it's just "the first step on a road that is still complicated", she said. She said support was needed to ensure a worker could resign without losing their residency permit. Activists have also called for parliament to amend the labour law to bring all domestic workers -- Lebanese and foreign -- under its protection, and give them the right to set up unions.

Lebanon's new domestic worker contract: end to 'kafala slavery'?

What Is The Kafala System? Why Is Qatar Abolishing It Now? What is the Kafala labour system? Why is Qatar abolishing it now?

Gravitas: Qatar To Abolish 'kafala' Labour: New Minimum Wage Law To Be Introduced