Qatar 'kafala' reforms face fresh delay

Qatar's pledge to abolish its controversial "kafala" labour system by the end of 2015 is in doubt after Doha's main consultative body expressed serious concerns about proposed reforms.
Despite expectations that Qatar was close to announcing the end of "kafala", the country's Shura Council said a draft law could not yet be introduced and needed further examination, according to the Arabic-language newspaper Al Sharq today.
The council's chairman Mohammed bin Mubarak al-Khulaifi also said there was "no need to hurry" in introducing the reforms, despite the government saying earlier this year that "kafala" would almost certainly be scrapped by December.

The council also appeared to propose introducing other reforms, including punishing foreign workers who "deliberately" create problems.
Government officials confirmed that further consultations would take place on the proposed changes to the system, which governs Qatar's vast army of foreign workers.
It means the timetable set in May by the country's minister of labour and social affairs could now be in doubt.

Abdullah bin Saleh al-Khulaifi said then that he was "90 per cent" certain the "kafala" system, which critics have likened to modern-day slavery, would be replaced by new legislation by the end of this year.
"Kafala" has been widely blamed for enabling the abuse of foreign workers, especially labourers involved in the country's vast infrastructure projects, at the hands of unscrupulous bosses.

The Shura Council said it wants to keep a two-year ban on issuing new papers to expat workers who leave Qatar after the cancellation of their work visa.
Any new law should not allow foreign workers to change jobs more than twice, it said.
And it wants to include a provision that any foreign worker who deliberately creates problems for employers should not be allowed to change jobs.
The planned law would force problematic employees to work with the same employer for double the length of the contract, which could mean up to 10 years, as compensation.
There are an estimated 1.6 million migrant labourers working in Qatar, but that number is set to top two million ahead of the football World Cup in 2022.

The potential delay comes despite international criticism of Qatar's labour laws and the slow pace of reform.