Kafala System

Why in news?

• Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup attracted international scrutiny over the country’s kafala labor system
• Several labor groups have renewed calls for the abolition of an employment practice used in many Middle Eastern countries that they say has often been used to exploit migrant workers.

What is the Kafala System?

• It is a sponsorship system that binds migrant workers to one employer (a sponsor) in many countries of West Asia.
• It emerged in the 1950s with an objective to provide temporary and rotating labourers in the period of economic boom.
• The practice of the Kafala System has been prevalent in the following countries or group of countries:
  • Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE
  • Jordan
  • Lebanon

 How does it work?

• The Kafala system revolved around three bodies:
  • A migrant labourer
  • An employer who is the sponsor and is called Kafeel.
  • A contract period
• The Kafala system functions in the following manner:
  • A migrant worker in the countries that practise this sponsorship system is legally bound to his employer.
  • Without Kafeel’s permission, the migrant worker cannot enter or leave the country; nor transfer his/her employment.
  • To enter a country, a migrant gets tied to one sponsor who coordinates with the immigration authorities about the former’s arrival and departure as per the contractual agreement.

PRACTICE QUESTION

‘Kafala System’, sometimes seen in news, is associated with:

(a) Water management

(b) Labour regulation

(c) Cyber security

(d) Taxation

Answer