To Whom It May Concern,
The Kafala system is, as is known, widely used in gulf countries for the management of migrant residency and employment. This system, a legal sponsorship system under which a local citizen or company (known as the Kafeel) sponsors foreign workers for their work visas and residency to be valid, is also known as an exploitative system for migrant employees in Jordan, Lebanon and all Arab gulf countries because a migrant employee’s right to work and legal residence depends on his or her employer with tight restrictions on changing employers and only sponsors can renew or terminate employment and residency visas. Though the emphasis on its reformation is given, migrant employees still remain vulnerable and face exploitation due to its exploitative opportunities.
It is pertinent to note that the situation turns out to be more vulnerable because the stated system, which was established in the 1950s due to the increased demand for cheap labor and the growing search for opportunities to work by migrants in Gulf countries and send money to home countries, falls under the jurisdiction of interior ministries rather than labor ministries making migrant workers unprotected under the labor law of host countries and leaving no ability for them to enter a labor dispute process. Along with the deaths of many migrant workers, the lack of regulations of the controversial sponsorship system and protections for the rights of migrant employees, according to available sources, often results in low wages, poor working conditions and employee abuse including physical abuse.
Confiscating the passports and other legal documents of migrants, forcing them to work excessive hours and debt bondage are definitely not uncommon at all. There is also racial discrimination against migrants coming from different countries. Though the construction projects for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar have largely exposed the flaws of the system with the increased abuse of migrant workers and deaths, exploitations and deaths take place in all host countries. Though several countries took some reform steps including the introduction of a wage protection system in 2009 in the United Arab Emirates and the passing of a law criminalizing forced labor and exploitation in Jordan in 2009, these are not enough. There is an indifference to the exploitation of migrant employees.
The call for reform in the system that is rendered by many as modern slavery and endows private citizens rather than the state with control over the legal statuses of migrant workers is rightly growing from countries, organizations and others. It is desired that all the concerns are addressed. No doubt, the replacement of the individual sponsor-based system with the national agency-based system is desirable across host countries. Moreover, putting emphasis on some aspects including the protection of migrant workers under labor laws, the introduction of effective wage protection systems and the criminalization of exploitation across host countries is imperative.
Amir M Sayem
Chief Editor
Dhaka Opinion Magazine
