The unique aspects of sponsorship systems in the Middle East, commonly known as kafala, result in a delegation of responsibility by the State to the private employer to oversee both a migrant worker’s immigration and employment status. This is inherently problematic as it creates an imbalance between the rights and abilities of workers and employers to terminate an employment relationship, and be mobile on the labour market in the respective country. This paper argues that reforming the sponsorship systems in a way which disassociates a worker’s immigration status from their employer’s control, and enables a migrant worker to resign or terminate his/ her employment contract by giving reasonable notice and without losing valid immigration status, can have significant economic, social and administrative benefits. Furthermore it may contribute to progress towards nationalization programmes, the smooth functioning of the labour market, and adherence to the rule of law.
Based on long-term ethnographic research, including documentary research, qualitative interviews and observations made at a Portuguese shelter for “sex trafficked women,” this paper explores the counter-trafficking apparatus questioning who bene...Read More
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre has quizzed 100 construction companies operating in Qatar and the UAE on the measures they are taking to stop exploitation of migrant workers. Only 22 responded, indicating a shocking level of inaction. ...Read More
Millions of people around the world who farm, fish, and process the food in our stores are working extremely long hours, toiling in unsafe conditions, and earning only poverty wages. The report and its accompanying methodology note launch Oxfam’...Read More
In July 2015, Human Rights Watch interviewed 26 children, ages 16 and 17, who worked on tobacco farms in North Carolina that summer. Almost all of the children inter- viewed—25 out of 26—said they experienced sickness, pain, and discomfort while...Read More
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