As Qatar decides to cancel the Kafala system, the governing body of the International Labour Organization (ILO) said it will close the complaint filed against Qatar under its article 26 and launch a technical cooperation programme of three years with a road map and action plan, ILO Chairman Luc Cortebeeck said at a press conference.
"Around two million workers in Qatar in various sectors will now enjoy their protection, including a dispute settlement system which is also accessible for the extremely vulnerable domestic workers," Luc said.
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"With this, the sponsorship (Kafala) system will come to an end and a contract system will substitute it. There will be a procedure for filing complaints, and ILO will help the workers in Qatar."
"We have arrived at this step after seven meetings of the ILO governing body and after the visits we made to Qatar in 2015, where a lot of discussions were made," said Luc.
He stressed that the conventions have to be applied in law and in practice, adding, "A lot has to be done in the future. But, this is really a very major step and we are happy that we could make this decision involving the three parties: the government, employers and workers."
"The most important step was putting the sponsorship (Kafala) system to an end. It is really a major step," Luc said, adding that there were three major subjects to be addressed, namely the passport confiscation, the contract substitution and the possibility to go out of the country.
"But, this is not sufficient. We will come to a minimum wage system as well as labour inspection and dispute systems with the help of the ILO. In addition, there will be an ILO office in Qatar to receive the workers' complaints and resolve them with the help of the government. We have a three-year programme, which includes supervision, follow up and an annual assessment," he said.
Responding on a question about the situation of labourers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, he said the ILO conventions are applicable for all countries. "At the moment, there are some programmes with the ILO and the Gulf region, and I think we will have a follow up," he said.
"This (Qatar) is an important example, and the decision we made today is also important as a new input with the cooperation programme we have with the region," added Luc.
