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blastermill · Joined: 30 Aug 2011 Posts: 101

Set timeframe to scrap sponsorship rule: HRW Wednesday, 13 June 2012

DOHA: A leading global human rights watchdog has urged Qatar to specify a timeframe by which it hopes to remove the sponsorship and exit permit rules for expatriate workers.New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday it met with senior government officials on Monday and urged them to specify a deadline to do away with the sponsorship system.
�The general promise (by Qatar to remove the sponsorship and exit permit rules) means little unless they specify a deadline,� Sarah Whitson, HRW Middle East Director, told this newspaper yesterday.Earlier in the day, talking of the need to improve labour rights in Qatar, she told a news conference that the Qatari government has shown willingness to work with them on the issue, but has not made any commitments so far.�The Qatari government is very open. They have expressed their wishes to work with Human Right Watch�but they have not made any commitments and said they need more time,� Whitson told reporters. She also said that Qatari authorities had no objection to their press briefing being held here. �We informed the government that we wish to hold a press conference and they said yes,� Whitson later told The Peninsula.Asked if she also raised the issue of exit permit (an employer�s formal permission for a foreign worker to travel overseas) with government officials, Whitson said the exit permit regime is part of sponsorship rules.At yesterday�s press meet, HRW released a 146-page report on Qatar titled �Building a Better World Cup: Protecting Migrant Workers in Qatar Ahead of Fifa 2022�.

Present with Whitson were Priyanka Motaparthy, a representative of the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) division of HRW, and Nicholas McGeehan, director of Mafiwasta, an organization for workers� rights in the UAE.Answering questions, Whitson said Qatar and Fifa have no option other than improving labour rights situation in Qatar to global standards.
The report is based on interviews with several migrant construction workers, as well as meetings and correspondence with government officials, employers, contracting companies, manpower agencies, diplomats from labour-exporting countries and worker rights� activists, HRW said.According to the report, the problems migrant workers face include �exorbitant recruitment fees, which can take years to pay off, employers� routine confiscation of worker passports and the restrictive sponsorship system that gives employers undue control over their workers.�Workers reported a range of problems, including unpaid wages, illegal salary deductions, crowded and unsanitary labor camps, and unsafe working conditions,� the report said.The report said that Qatar has one of the most restrictive sponsorship laws in the region, as workers cannot change jobs without their employer�s permission, regardless of whether they have worked two years or 20.And all workers must get their sponsoring employer to sign an �exit permit� before they can leave the country. According to HRW, Saudi Arabia is the only other GCC country that has this system, while others have removed it.

Workers in the other GCC states can also change jobs after serving out their contracts or after working for two to three years with their first employer.The HRW has also taken objection to workers not being allowed to form unions or strike with its report saying that a recent government proposal for a worker union fails to meet minimum requirements for free association by restricting all decision-making positions to Qatari citizens.
Migrant workers comprise a staggering 94 percent of Qatar�s workforce, and the country has the highest ratio of migrants to nationals in the world.
The country may recruit up to a million additional construction workers over the next decade to build the stadiums and infrastructure
improvements Qatar promised in its bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup soccer event.The HRW said that as so many mega projects are to be launched for the 2022 event, Qatar and Fifa must ensure a risk-free environment for construction workers. Contracting companies and developers must respect labour rights and follow international norms, said the report.

The Peninsula

blastermill · Joined: 30 Aug 2011 Posts: 101

Set timeframe to scrap sponsorship rule: HRW Wednesday, 13 June 2012

DOHA: A leading global human rights watchdog has urged Qatar to specify a timeframe by which it hopes to remove the sponsorship and exit permit rules for expatriate workers.New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday it met with senior government officials on Monday and urged them to specify a deadline to do away with the sponsorship system.
�The general promise (by Qatar to remove the sponsorship and exit permit rules) means little unless they specify a deadline,� Sarah Whitson, HRW Middle East Director, told this newspaper yesterday.

Earlier in the day, talking of the need to improve labour rights in Qatar, she told a news conference that the Qatari government has shown willingness to work with them on the issue, but has not made any commitments so far.�The Qatari government is very open. They have expressed their wishes to work with Human Right Watch�but they have not made any commitments and said they need more time,� Whitson told reporters. She also said that Qatari authorities had no objection to their press briefing being held here. �We informed the government that we wish to hold a press conference and they said yes,� Whitson later told The Peninsula.Asked if she also raised the issue of exit permit (an employer�s formal permission for a foreign worker to travel overseas) with government officials, Whitson said the exit permit regime is part of sponsorship rules.At yesterday�s press meet, HRW released a 146-page report on Qatar titled �Building a Better World Cup: Protecting Migrant Workers in Qatar Ahead of Fifa 2022�.

Present with Whitson were Priyanka Motaparthy, a representative of the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) division of HRW, and Nicholas McGeehan, director of Mafiwasta, an organization for workers� rights in the UAE.Answering questions, Whitson said Qatar and Fifa have no option other than improving labour rights situation in Qatar to global standards.
The report is based on interviews with several migrant construction workers, as well as meetings and correspondence with government officials, employers, contracting companies, manpower agencies, diplomats from labour-exporting countries and worker rights� activists, HRW said.According to the report, the problems migrant workers face include �exorbitant recruitment fees, which can take years to pay off, employers� routine confiscation of worker passports and the restrictive sponsorship system that gives employers undue control over their workers.�Workers reported a range of problems, including unpaid wages, illegal salary deductions, crowded and unsanitary labor camps, and unsafe working conditions,� the report said.The report said that Qatar has one of the most restrictive sponsorship laws in the region, as workers cannot change jobs without their employer�s permission, regardless of whether they have worked two years or 20.And all workers must get their sponsoring employer to sign an �exit permit� before they can leave the country. According to HRW, Saudi Arabia is the only other GCC country that has this system, while others have removed it.

Workers in the other GCC states can also change jobs after serving out their contracts or after working for two to three years with their first employer.The HRW has also taken objection to workers not being allowed to form unions or strike with its report saying that a recent government proposal for a worker union fails to meet minimum requirements for free association by restricting all decision-making positions to Qatari citizens.
Migrant workers comprise a staggering 94 percent of Qatar�s workforce, and the country has the highest ratio of migrants to nationals in the world.
The country may recruit up to a million additional construction workers over the next decade to build the stadiums and infrastructure improvements Qatar promised in its bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup soccer event.The HRW said that as so many mega projects are to be launched for the 2022 event, Qatar and Fifa must ensure a risk-free environment for construction workers. Contracting companies and developers must respect labour rights and follow international norms, said the report.
The Peninsula

blastermill · Joined: 30 Aug 2011 Posts: 101

Some people have had several transfers of sponsorship. I can think of one person who has bounced around from QF to QU and back to QF so it does happen. I myself have had two - it all depends on your job classification and how much you are needed.

://thepeninsulaqatar.com/law/229018-legal-corner-noc-is-valid-only-for-one-transfer.html

aw No. 4/2009, which governs the entry, exit, residence and sponsorship of expatriates, stipulates that the agency concerned at the Ministry of Interior requires written approval from both parties, besides approval from the Ministry of Labour, for transferring an employee�s sponsorship. Transfer of sponsorship results in the new sponsor bearing all obligations to the employee, and clears the former sponsor of all responsibilities.

This condition for transferring sponsorship should be adhered to by all parties. Therefore, the questioner should get a new NOC from his current employer to transfer his sponsorship.

The NOC is valid only for one transfer and cannot be used more than once, and it becomes void once used for transferring sponsorship, since the names of the current and new sponsors will be different the next time.

Nevertheless, the NOC can be used as evidence to show that the worker has a local contract. But there is no provision in law that obliges a sponsor to transfer the sponsorship of his employee if he has been recruited locally.

Article (12) of the law says the minister or his representative may provisionally transfer the sponsorship of an expatriate worker in case of claims between him and his sponsor.

The minister or his representative may also approve the transfer of sponsorship of an expatriate worker if it is proved that the current sponsor is abusive or if public interest requires it.