Bound for five years

Qatar is feeling the pressure! New laws have been announced bringing thousands of domestic workers under legal protection for the first time.[1] However significant gaps mean that both these, and the workers preparing Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, remain vulnerable to modern slavery. Call on Qatar to end employers’ right to stop workers leaving the country. Right now in Qatar, employers can object to a worker’s application for an exit permit, which coupled with contracts that bind a worker to their employer for five years,[2]many thousands remain vulnerable to exploitation and forced labor, despite these new announcements.    Ask for penalties for employers who exploit workers. Domestic workers are now limited to a 10 hour working day and time off, in a step that seems to be an attempt to appease the United Nations, following a complaint about Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers.[3] The International Labour Organization will be reviewing the government’s efforts in just two months’ time. Now is the time to act to bring about an end to forced labor! In solidarity, Joanna, Miriam and the Freedom United Team

ACT NOW   [1] https://www.freedomunited.org/news/qatar-protects-domestic-workers-rights/ [2] https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE2270022017ENGLISH.PDF [3] http://ilo.org/gb/decisions/GB329-decision/WCMS_548462/lang--en/index.htm