‘Kafala’ or ‘Sponsorship
System’
Roojaa Bajracharya
Centre for the Study of Labour and Mobility (CESLAM)
Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) Countries
• Comprises of Qatar, the p
Q
,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain Kuwait
Kingdom of Bahrain, Kuwait and Sultanate of Oman • Majority of the GCC countries have amongst the highest proportion of
highest proportion of foreign workers population
Native vs. Migrant Population in GCC Countries Q t
Qatar
Native Population
Migrant Population
13%
87%
Saudi Arabia
30%
70%
UAE
31%
69%
Bahrain
Kuwait
Oman
www.ceslam.org
46%
54%
74%
79%
26%
21%
Total Number of Migrants to GCC Countries between 2006‐2011
between 2006‐2011
Total Number of Migrants Between 2006‐2011 to the GCC Countries 450,000 400,000 Number of Migrrants
350,000 300,000 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 ‐
Male
Female
2006/07 to 2010/11
Qatar
415 229
415,229 1 384
1,384 Saudi Arabia
286,785 546 UAE
190,647 6,023 Bahrain
22,010 1,459 Kuwait
23,646 11,633 Oman
13,135 1,119 www.ceslam.org
What is the Kafala System?
•
Kafala System: Sponsorship system that regulates residency and employment of the workers in the GCC countries
•
Who are they?: Not just maid that work in the household but is defined as any and anyone who works within household (drivers, gardener, maid etc) •
Sponsors Responsibility: – Pays for recruiting the worker to the GCC Country – After the arrival of the worker he is required to assume full economic and legal responsibility – Workers visa status is tied to the sponsor
•
Contract period : – For a minimum of two years – No contract signed between sponsor and worker; only between worker and recruitment agency
www.ceslam.org
Contd..
•
•
Breach of contract:
– If a contract is broken sponsor may ask the worker to pay back the recruitment fee , unless abuse or proven violation has been committed by the sponsor
Binding workers:
– Sponsor has complete control over the mobility of worker
– Cannot transfer employment without first obtaining a consent from Cannot transfer employment without first obtaining a consent from
the sponsor – Cannot leave the country without first receiving an ‘exit visa’ from the sponsor
www.ceslam.org
Why is it a problem for domestic workers?
•
Why does the system affect them most?: GCC countries explicitly excludes domestic workers under their labour laws and social security laws
Country
Labour laws that explicitly exclude domestic workers Bahrain
Explicitly excluded under section 2 of the Labour Code for the Private Sector No 23 of 1976 Kuwait Explicitly excluded under section 2 of the Labour Code for the Private Sector No 30 of 1995 Q
Qatar Explicitly excluded under section 3 of the Labour Code No 14 of 2004 li i l
l d d d
i 3 f h
b
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f 200
Saudi Arabia Explicitly excluded under section 7 (b)of the Labour Act, 2006 (Royal Decree No. M/51) / )
UAE Explicitly excluded under section 3 of the Federal Act No. 8 of 1980, regulating employment relationship Oman p
y
,
( y
Explicitly excluded under section 2 of Labour Code, 2003 (Royal Decree No. 35) www.ceslam.org
Contd…
•
•
•
Monitoring situation of workers: No proper study on the situation of domestic workers since GCC laws do not allow labour inspectors into their homes
i
GCC l
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t i t th i h
Cause of escalating abuse: Recruitment fee for live‐in domestic worker is 2‐3 times higher than what a yearly salary of a worker Types of abuse:
Types of abuse: Types of Abuse
Description Economic abuse
Economic abuse Terms and conditions of the work contract are violated by the employer‐not paid on Terms
and conditions of the work contract are violated by the employer not paid on
time, or paid less or not paid at all Psychological abuse Employer forbids the domestic worker from contacting their family, restricts movement (withholding passport and other documents), trauma from the sexual advances and
advances and Verbal abuse Use of degrading words, insulting, humiliation, making fun of the workers race, cast, religion, clothes, personal behavior y
Physical violence Workers are slapped, hit, burnt, punched, not given food or enough rest/sleep, no pp
p
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proper health care or no health care, locked in the room against the workers will Sexual abuse Forced to have sex against their will, unwanted sexual advances made by the employer
www.ceslam.org
Runaway/ Absconding • Why is running away bad?: GCC country laws consider running away as a crime and jailed
away as a crime and jailed
– Runaway workers do not get any form of justice even in the case where there is an obvious violation of rights
– Slow judiciary process ,identification – Not allowed to work while there is a pending case – Work illegally making them more vulnerable k ill ll
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bl
– Cannot leave the country without an ‘exit visa’ from the sponsor
– No embassies‐ no embassies in Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait
www.ceslam.org
Bilateral Agreements
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•
•
Why is it important?: excluded from labour laws it is the only instrument that can insure protection of domestic workers
Nepal has signed bilateral agreements with just Bahrain, UAE and Qatar
What does it say?:
y
– Just an agreement allowing sending of Nepali migrant workers to the countries
– No specification of domestic workers protection No specification of domestic workers protection
– Article 3 (2) and (3) of the bilateral agreement with Bahrain‐protection and periodic information about worker to Embassy of Nepal respectively but no specification for domestic workers
respectively but no specification for domestic workers
– Article 6 of the bilateral agreement with Qatar states workers travel expenses to be borne by sponsor but no mention of domestic workers
www.ceslam.org
Recommendations •
•
Campaigning and Awareness:
– Raising awareness on the Kafala System – Focus should be on pre‐employment orientations
– Encourage prospective migrants to apply for work outside the Encourage prospective migrants to apply for work outside the
domestic sphere
Pre Departure Orientation: – Leave a copy of travel document at home and carry one in person, so Leave a copy of travel document at home and carry one in person so
that identification becomes easier in the destination country
– Target domestic workers
– Providing migrants with contact information for emergency assistance‐
P idi
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embassy/ consulate, civil society organizations at destination country
www.ceslam.org
Contd…
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Lobbying:
– Better management of Nepali embassy and establishing embassies in all the destination countries
– Mandatory registration with the Nepali embassy at the destination y g
p
y
country
– Safe houses set up at the destination countries
– Better bilateral agreement with specific protection for domestic Better bilateral agreement with specific protection for domestic
workers – Encourage sending workers for work that’s covered by the labor laws
www.ceslam.org