Agencies – A new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) states that reforming visa-granting systems for migrant workers on the basis of sponsorship / Kafala in the Middle East would benefit the economies of receiving countries and migrant workers themselves. Current Kafala systems in the Middle East have been criticized for the unequal relationship they create between employers and migrant workers, which may develop into forced labour. A key factor contributing to the poor position of migrant workers – especially domestic workers – is the that sponsers control a number of aspects of their mobility within the labour market, including entry into the country, renewal of residence, termination of employment, And in some cases exiting the country. These actions take a great deal of responsibility on employers and are often a burden on them. To counter that, alternative methods can be adopted that more clearly assign the roles of organization and protection to the government. . The new report, entitled Employer Relations with Migrant Workers in the Middle East: Exploring Mobility within the Labour Market and Fair Migration shows that the reform of the current Kafala procedures governing the temporary migration of workers in the Middle East will have wide benefits, from improving working conditions and improving the needs of employers to strengthening the economy and labour market productivity. The Kafala system is a comprehensive set of laws, administrative regulations, standards and customary practices governing labour migration in the Middle East. Under this Kafala system, a migrant worker is associated with his or her sponsor for the duration of the contract in all matters pertaining to his or her immigration and legal status so that a migrant worker can not enter the country, resign from work, move to another work or in some cases leave the country without the prior express permission of the employer.
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