Qatar: Regional first non-discriminatory minimum wage comes into effect
Photo: Ahmed_Abdel_Hamid, Getty Images via Canva Pro
On 20 March 2021 Qatar's new non-discriminatory minimum wage law came into force. The law guarantees the same minimum wage for all workers, all nationalities, all sectors and includes domestic workers. It ensures a minimum monthly wage of QAR1,000 ($275) as well as minimum allowances for food (QAR300) and housing (QAR500) unless this is provided by the employer.
The law comes into force following a six month transition period for employers after recent reforms have also sought to "dismantle" the kafala system by no longer requiring workers to obtain exit permits to leave the country or no objection certificates if they wish to change jobs having fulfilled their contractual obligations. However, migrant workers have reported challenges around changing jobs, with the "majority" of workers recently interviewed by Al Jazeera reporting problems. A robust monitoring system for the minimum wage ensuring access to remedy for migrant workers whose conditions of employment are not compliant will be essential.
Some obstacles still must be addressed for more effective labour mobility, but we’ve observed a large number of workers moving to new jobs. While 75 per cent of the workers who have applied to change jobs have already completed the process, the remainder are currently being processed. Companies across all industries have also benefited from being able to recruit workers locally, reducing the costs and risks related with cross-border recruitment.Max Tuñón, ILO Qatar