Under pressure from international allies and rights groups, as well as the Crown’s desire to project a progressive agenda, Saudi Arabia announced that it will be removing a number of restrictions from its controversial kafala migrant worker system, which critics say entrenches modern-day slavery.
Kafala, which in Arabic translates to “sponsorship system”, is a contractual agreement between employers and workers that “monitors and regulates migrant domestic and construction workers” in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The system was first implemented in the 1950s and is highly prevalent across the region, particularly in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Under the terms of the contract, workers are sponsored by a host or an employer, who generally preside over worker’s wellbeing, and visa and legal status. In many cases, employers and hosts often seize their workers’ passports, prohibiting them from returning home and forcing them to work for low wages that are often not paid in full or on time. Consequently, workers are effectively barred from changing jobs or leaving the country without their employer’s consent. Those that dare question this heavily unethical and unequal arrangement are frequently subjected to mental, physical, sexual, and financial abuse.
Accordingly, Deputy Minister for Human Resources Abdullah bin Nasser Abuthunain announced that Saudi Arabia will now allow foreign workers to leave or re-enter the country without their employer’s permission, and also permit them to change jobs without the permission of their sponsor. This was driven in some part by negotiations with the Philippines, who is one of the foremost contributing countries of domestic workers in the region. The Saudi official said that the plan also constitutes an important feature of the Crown’s Vision 2030, under which the country aims to “diversify its oil-dependent economy”.
The new guidelines will come into effect from March 2021, and has received a lukewarm response from the country’s 10 million foreign workers and rights groups. Saudi Arabia currently houses over 10 million foreign workers, and it is hoped that these reforms will improve the image of the country and paint an image of an attractive labor destination. The Kingdom is heavily dependent on foreign labor, with roughly one-third of the country’s population comprised of migrant workers. Therefore, this move seeks to protect domestic employers from losing highly critical workers.
However, the reforms only apply to construction, retail, and IT workers; domestic workers, drivers, farmers, gardeners, and security guards have been left in the dark over whether they will also be protected by the new rules. Moreover, these workers are most likely to be abused in their workplace and by their employers. Saudi authorities, however, insist that the rules will apply to all foreign workers, regardless of the nature of their work or their salary.
That being said, even those who are protected under the new system will still have to request government authorities for permission. In the past, these authorities have been unwilling and uninterested in helping foreign workers, and thus this provision hardly inspires confidence.
Furthermore, Human Rights Watch researcher Rothna Begum remarked that “Migrant workers still need an employer to sponsor them to come to the country and employers may still have control over their residency status”. In addition, rather than allowing workers to quit their jobs, the new regulations will only allow them to transfer their sponsorship from one employer to another.
Begum added, “There are also hundreds of thousands of undocumented workers in Saudi Arabia, and the authorities have not said whether they will allow such workers, many of whom became undocumented through no fault of their own, to be able to regularize their status, including by finding new employers.”
In related news, the implementation of a similar plan in Lebanon—which would have “allowed migrant workers to terminate their contract without the consent of their employer, as well as guarantee a weekly rest day, overtime pay, sick pay, annual leave and the national minimum wage” —was suspended after a successful appeal by the coalition of Domestic Worker Recruitment in the country.
Saudi Arabia’s policy shift comes on the back of reports in late August that hundreds, if not thousands, of African migrants in Saudi Arabia have been forced to live in tightly-packed detention centers. Leaked images from the center show migrants crammed together in small rooms with barred windows, with corpses of those who died from heatstroke, hunger, thirst, and disease strewn about. Those who do survive are “beaten every day” with “whips and electric cords”.
It is hoped that this new legislation will protect against such abuses. However, foreign workers and rights groups remain unconvinced.
Saudi Arabia to Modify Kafala System, Ease Restrictions on Foreign Workers
From March, Saudi Arabia will allow foreign workers to leave or re-enter the country without their employer’s permission, and change jobs without the consent of their sponsor.
November 10, 2020
IMAGE SOURCE: MANDEL NGAN / AFPCrown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman