Doha, May 23 (QNA) - In its editorial on Sunday, The Peninsula English newspaper said that Qatar's labour reforms, which are meant to protect and promote migrant workers rights, have won global appreciation.
The newspaper pointed out that the journey towards these reforms began when the State of Qatar issued Law No 21 of 2015 regulating the entry, exit and residency of expatriates which came into force on Dec. 14, 2016, adding that the law replaced the labour sponsorship system known as 'Kafala' with a new contract-based law which was a step that introduced greater flexibility in the Qatar labour market and enhanced protection of labour rights.
The newspaper indicated that ending labour sponsorship system needed bringing a series of legislative reforms which were introduced by the State to ensure the highest level of protection to the expatriate workers including undress of thousands of construction workers recruited for stadiums and facilitates to host FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Accordingly many restrictions and conditions such as exit permit were removed, the paper added.
The condition of obtaining employer's no-objection certificate (NOC) for job transfer was completely scrapped in August 2020, followed by wage protection system and adoption of non-discriminatory minimum wage, the paper said.
The newspaper pointed out that these reforms won praise of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) as well as other human rights organizations across the globe. It noted that the latest praise was made by the FIFA President Gianni Infantino who stressed during his speech at the 71st FIFA Congress, that "workers and human rights are a priority for FIFA and Qatar as well", adding that the "Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup will be an ideal version of the World Cup".
The Peninsula concluded its editorial by emphasizing that the labour law reforms are a continuous process and the State of Qatar and FIFA give great priority to protection of human rights and on top of them the labour rights. (QNA)