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.
This Modern Slavery PEC Policy Brief is the third in a series of Policy Briefs that assess the evidence base on the effectiveness of different regulatory interventions to address modern slavery in global supply chains, a key research priority for th...Read More
The international community has declared that the persistence of child labour in today’s world is unacceptable and, in the Sustainable Development Goals, has renewed its commitment to eliminating all forms of child labour by 2025. This report aims...Read More
The new coronavirus (COVID-19) affects almost every area of people’s lives and economic activity and has led to a significant disruption of world trade. The current situation demonstrates how precarious our global systems of production and consump...Read More
To find out more about how the SII has been experienced, the Expert Review gathered information from two surveys and 10 interviews with key stakeholders. There were 14 SSO (all US-based) and 10 FI survey respondents (seven US, two Canada, and on...Read More
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