Saudi Arabia Ends 50-Year-Old Kafala System: How Does It Impact Labour Sponsorship?
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia has officially abolished its 50-year-old Kafala System, giving relief to millions of foreign workers in the kingdom from long-faced restrictions on job mobility and limited labor rights.
The reform was announced in June this year. The Kafala System was first brought in around the 1950s as a legal framework for labor sponsorship tied to residency and employment for individual employers in the GCC nations.
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The system was first used across Gulf States for labor sponsorship arrangements. Migrant workers’ legal status was directly tied to their employer (kafeel), granting the employer significant control over the worker’s ability to change jobs, leave the country, or even access legal recourse under the system.
The workers have been facing exploitation, abuse, and violations of their basic rights due to the system for long as they were unable to seek alternative employment or legal protection without their employer’s consent. Over time, the system began to face criticism given the power imbalance created by the structure.
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There have been multiple cases of widespread exploitation that human rights organizations described as facilitating forced labor and even slavery-like conditions in the gulf nations due to the system.
However, with the reform, Saudi has replaced the Kafala system with a contractual employment model. The new system permits migrant workers to change employers without needing their current employer’s approval, as per the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The workers can also leave the country without an exit visa, and access legal protections that were previously inaccessible under the Kafala framework.
Part of Saudi Arabia’s broader Vision 2030 initiative, the reform is expected to modernize the economy and enhance the rights and welfare of millions of foreign workers.
