Qatar: World Cup 2022 An Impetus for Labor Reform

Qatar recently announced that it will allow the establishment of trade unions and that it is evaluating plans to end its heavily criticized "sponsorship system." All of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have been pressured to change their sponsorship systems, known locally as "kafeel systems," which were put in place in the 1970s to manage large numbers of expatriate workers during a regional building boom. Since then, the sponsorship systems have transformed into multilayered bureaucracies and billion-dollar black market businesses in visa trading and fictitious companies.

Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have made incremental changes in their systems but have kept the core link between local sponsor and expatriate employee. Qatar, however, is in a unique situation: It is preparing to host the 2022 World Cup.

Doha needs to streamline the process of importing the estimated 1 million workers it will need to build infrastructure and stadiums in preparation for the World Cup. Canceling the sponsorship system will upset the balance of power between the emirate's laborers and sponsors at a delicate time. More importantly, it will increase pressure on other GCC states to follow suit by streamlining or canceling their sponsorship systems as well, affecting millions of foreigners living in the Gulf and the numerous businesses across the region.