Saudi Arabia Abolishes Kafala Labour System: Impact on 2.3 Million Indian Workers

File photo.

New Delhi:

Saudi Arabia has officially confirmed the abolishment of the controversial kafala labour sponsorship system, a 50-year-old practice often condemned as 'modern-day slavery.' This system granted employers, known as kafeel, extraordinary control over their workers, including the power to confiscate travel documents and determine if and when employees could change jobs or leave the country.

The kafala system led to cases like that of Jacintha Mendonca, a 46-year-old nurse from Karnataka who was lured by promises of profitable employment in Qatar but was trafficked to Saudi Arabia in 2016. Her kafeel demanded a ransom of Rs 4.3 lakh, and her freedom was only secured through diplomatic and legal interventions.

Mendonca's experience represents one of many harrowing stories involving young Indians attracted to Gulf countries by the prospect of earning in dinars or riyals, amassing wealth quickly, and returning home.

Now, such appalling incidents have been made illegal in Saudi Arabia, following similar bans in Israel and Bahrain. However, the kafala system persists in various forms across Gulf nations including Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon, and Qatar.

Approximately 25 million foreign nationals live and work under their kafeel's control across these countries. Indians constitute the largest group, numbering around 7.5 million.

Saudi Arabia announced plans to eliminate the system in June as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's 'Vision 2030' reforms—a multi-trillion-dollar initiative designed to enhance the country's image and attract foreign investment, particularly before global events such as the 2029 Asian Winter Games.

Approximately 13 million foreign workers, including 2.5 million Indians, will benefit from this reform.

The kafala system was introduced in the 1950s to regulate the influx of skilled and unskilled foreign labor from India and other Southeast Asian countries. This workforce was vital to developing the Saudi economy, with many workers employed in construction and manufacturing sectors.

To prevent this inexpensive labor force from overwhelming the economy, all incoming workers were 'tied' to a kafeel—an individual or company serving as their 'sponsor.' These sponsors were given extraordinary power over foreign nationals, controlling where they worked, often withholding wages, and even deciding where they lived.

More troublingly, workers could not file abuse complaints without their abuser's permission—a provision that surely should have appeared illogical or impossible to the Saudi administration of the time.

The system was less severe for skilled or white-collar workers but was nevertheless denounced by labor and human rights activists.

The International Labour Organization and other global agencies accused Gulf countries practicing the kafala system of facilitating human trafficking under the pretext of 'sponsorship.'

Women were particularly vulnerable. Rights organizations have documented instances of sexual abuse by kafeels. In 2017, a woman from Gujarat was forced into sexual slavery by her 'sponsor' in Saudi Arabia before being rescued by the Indian government.

In another case from the same year, a woman from Karnataka, who was taken to Saudi Arabia with promises of a monthly salary of Rs 1.5 lakh, suffered physical abuse and was thrown from the third floor of a building in Dammam. Again, government intervention was required for her rescue.

Rights groups, including international organizations like Amnesty, report thousands of similar cases involving people from India, Nepal, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Ethiopia.

Saudi Arabia's decision to abolish the system was influenced by international pressure, reports from global non-profits and aid agencies, and negative feedback from potential foreign investors. Ultimately, however, it was a decision made by the Crown Prince, motivated by Saudi Arabia's global ambitions.