Factsheet: Wages and Payments in Qatar
August 19, 2019
A short overview of the key regulations governing wages, payments, and entitlements in Qatar.
Labour Rights
Examining how people on the move interact with systems impacting their safety, freedoms, and opportunities. In the GCC, where migrant workers underpin much of the economy, this topic highlights lived experiences behind policies, power imbalances in recruitment and labor, protections and gaps affecting daily life, and efforts to secure dignity and fundamental rights for all.
Country-specific labour and domestic workers rights
Latest articles
Fintech in the Gulf: Reducing Costs for Migrant Remittances
March 19, 2019
A new crop of financial technology – fintech – companies are finding ways to cut costs for migrant workers sending money back home.
Bahrain building collapse kills 4, displaces nearly 200 workers
October 14, 2018
Death and Desolation: Shepherds and Farmworkers in Saudi Arabia
May 16, 2018
Explicitly excluded from the labour law and often working in isolation, the shepherds and farmworkers who help feed Saudi Arabia endure dangerous working and living conditions.
Philippines takes extreme measures, as Kuwait continues to mismanage workers’ rights
March 6, 2018
The Philippines’ blanket ban might lead to more irregular migration, but the country has few options available as Kuwait fails its large migrant workforce.
Where goats are king and men suffer
December 28, 2017
MRRORS.org travels to the rough deserts of Kuwait, where migrants working as shepherds are subject to both the vagaries of the weather and their kafeels.
Technical Cooperation between ILO and Qatar on Workers rights
December 14, 2017
Threat of Commission of Inquiry eases
Latest In Brief
April 19, 2026
Bahrain shortens summer midday work ban period
Bahrain’s cabinet has recently revised the summer midday work ban for employees working outdoors under the sun, reducing it from three months to two and a half months.
February 15, 2026
UAE Ratifies the ILO Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention
The UAE has recently ratified the ILO’s 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention. While this is a step in the right direction, unless the Kafala system is dismantled, eradication of forced labour would not be possible.
February 14, 2025
Bangladesh intensifies efforts for more labour recruitment to Saudi
Bangladesh is pushing hard to send more migrant workers to Saudi Arabia as the Kingdom prepares for various mega projects, including the FIFA World Cup 2034. Saudi hosts the largest number of overseas Bangladeshis – three million – who constitute the single largest expatriate nationality in the country. Bangladesh continues to accept many of the Kingdom's conditions without critique, despite the financial burden it places on its citizens. Nevertheless, other labour sending countries are likely to deploy similar strategies to get a share of the opportunities that Saudi is likely to offer over the next decade.
August 21, 2024
UAE Amends Specific Labour Law Provisions Concerning Dispute Resolution
The UAE has recently amended its labour dispute procedures, increasing fines for some employment violations and allowing partial payments to avoid legal action. The amendments also transfer jurisdiction for certain violations involving domestic workers.
August 20, 2024
Oman Eases Penalties on Businesses for Labour Law Violations
Oman’s Ministry of Labour recently issued two resolutions enabling employers to pay reduced fines to avoid legal action, and authorising regulators to prohibit employers from issuing or renewing work permits for migrant workers.