“Qatar Shura Council calls for reintroducing exit permits for domestic workers, threatening to undo reforms”

Qatar’s Shura Council has suggested reintroducing exit permits for domestic workers, though it has rephrased the practice as ‘obtaining employer approval’ at least five days before departure…

If the motion is accepted and the recommendations are implemented, it would be a serious setback for the reform process in Qatar, which claims to have abolished the Kafala system. The Council has also put forward other measures that are aimed at restricting domestic workers’ mobility and other rights…

The Shura Council’s preoccupation with workers ‘escaping’ reflects the attitude of employers who presume they have bought the worker, rather than hired their services.

Absconding laws that criminalise workers who leave their employers, as MR has previously reported, affect women and domestic workers the worst….

…In a country where unions and any kind of organising is prohibited, workers remain unrepresented…

…In 2021, Qatar introduced the need for a signed resignation letter that became a de facto ‘No Objection Certificate,’ undermining the law that promises job mobility for migrant workers…

…In 2022, Qatar introduced a nine-month probation period between recruitment agent and employer, which made it more difficult for domestic workers to change jobs during the period…