IN SOME CASES, EMPLOYERS HAVE REQUESTED BETWEEN
QR5,000 -15,000
(US$1,375 - 4,125, BETWEEN FIVE AND 15 TIMES A WORKERS’ MONTHLY MINIMUM WAGE)
TO “RELEASE” THE EMPLOYEES A LUCRATIVE BUSINESS IS STIFLING REFORM EFFORTS Leaders of migrant workers’ communities and representatives of organizations supporting them noted that the “NOC trade” had become a lucrative business for some employers at a time when the NOC was supposed to have been abolished.63 Workers who spoke to Amnesty International and individuals working with and supporting migrant workers said that in some cases, employers have requested between QR5,000 -15,000 (US$1,375 - 4,125, between five and 15 times a workers’ monthly minimum wage) to “release” their employees, even though they had completed their contracts, or could anyway legally change jobs without seeking permission after the first three months of employment.64 Employers often argue that they have incurred recruitment fees to get workers to Qatar and should be reimbursed these costs, according to migrant workers who spoke to Amnesty International.65 According to the new law, however, recruitment fees should only be repaid to the current employer if the worker wants to move jobs during the first six-month probation period (three months for domestic workers) and even then, such a fee should not exceed two months of the workers’ basic salary. Once the probation period is over, workers should be able to move freely without paying any costs.66 When Christina finished her two-year contract as a domestic worker for a family in Qatar, she wanted to apply for a job in a cleaning company. She found her job as a domestic worker very demanding, working on average 14 hours a day, with no day off and without overtime pay. Through an online job-hunting process, she secured a job in a cleaning company with better pay and conditions. When she requested an NOC, her employer asked her to pay QR15,000 (US$4,125). She told Amnesty International, “They said they paid QR15,000 to get me so if I want to work for another, they must pay QR15,000.” As a result she was not able to change jobs and was forced to continue working as a domestic worker.67 Another Filipino worker told Amnesty International that despite having worked for her employer for close to five years and receiving a job offer, her employer demanded QR15,000 for an NOC or “permission” to leave. She was so afraid of her sponsor cancelling her ID and sending her back to her home country without paying her the end-of-service gratuity she was due, that she did not submit the transfer request.68
63 Interviews with community leaders and representatives of migrant workers’ organizations supporting them between September and October 2021. 64 Interviews with migrant workers conducted remotely and in Qatar between April and October 2021. 65 Ibid. 66 See Article 1 of Law No. 18 of 2020 amending Article 39 of the Labour Law. 67 Remote interview, 9 September 2021. 68 Remote interview, 19 September 2021.
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REALITY CHECK 2021: A YEAR TO THE 2022 WORLD CUP THE STATE OF MIGRANT WORKERS’ RIGHTS IN QATAR Amnesty International
