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Qatar introduces new labor reforms

Responding to international pressure, Qatar has introduced new labor reforms to align with human rights and better living standards for migrant workers.

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Foreign laborers working on the construction site of Al-Wakrah football stadium, one of Qatar's 2022 World Cup stadiums, walk back to their accommodations at the Ezdan 40 compound after finishing work on May 4, 2015, in Doha's Al-Wakrah southern suburbs. — MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP via Getty Images

Qatar has recently introduced labor reforms that could prove beneficial for the country’s long-term development. Having come under the spotlight due to the FIFA World Cup that it is due to host in 2022, Doha has received criticism regarding human rights and living standards of foreign migrants working there.

Announcing a nondiscriminatory minimum wage and doing away with some of the control sponsors have over employees under the prevalent kafala system, Qatar is not only setting new labor standards to attract more foreign workers, but it is also the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) state to announce such drastic reforms.

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