How Bangladeshi workers continue to suffer from Kafala rules in UAE

Infograph: TBS

Highlights:

• UAE's Kafala system traps migrant workers in exploitative conditions
• Job change without employer consent is often impossible or risky
• UAE resists reforms seen in Qatar and Saudi Arabia
• Bangladesh lacks binding agreements to protect migrant worker rights
• Workers face abuse, wage theft, and severe movement restrictions
• Rights groups urge abolition of Kafala, stronger international pressure needed

Bangladeshi migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continue to face systemic exploitation under the Kafala system — a widely criticised labour sponsorship framework that ties workers' legal status to their employers.

Countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia reformed their systems in 2019 and 2020, respectively, easing restrictions on job mobility and exit permits. However, the UAE has resisted similar reforms, drawing criticism from international rights and labour advocacy organisations.

The Kafala system severely restricts migrant workers' freedom – prohibiting them from changing jobs without their employer's formal consent, even in cases involving abuse, wage theft, or hazardous working conditions.

Rajiul Hasan Rubel, a Bangladeshi migrant in Dubai, told TBS during a visit home, "I changed my company job in November 2020 with my employer's approval. Previously, I worked as an aluminium pipe fitter; now I work as a concrete mason.

"The provision to change companies was introduced towards the end of 2020 and was available for about a year. Then it was stopped and restarted for 5–6 months. Now it is closed again." 

He added, "Because it's not available, Bangladeshis are not getting good jobs. Even though they know the work, they cannot move, so they are deprived of better pay. Often, companies don't offer good pay or a good working environment. But even if they want to, they cannot go anywhere," Rubel added.

Despite growing global pressure and examples of reform elsewhere in the Gulf, the UAE has yet to implement significant changes in the Kafala system.

Syed Saiful Haque, a migrant rights activist and chairman of the WARBE Development Foundation, which advocates for the rights and welfare of migrant workers, told TBS, "We send workers [to UAE] under a non-binding MoU, not a formal agreement. This weakens our position, despite thousands of our workers being there. With a binding deal, we could push harder when rights are violated."

TBS attempted to contact the labour counsellors at the Bangladesh embassies in Abu Dhabi and Dubai regarding the issue, but they did not respond to phone calls.

For many Bangladeshi workers, the consequences of trying to leave abusive employers are severe. Those who attempt to switch jobs without permission risk becoming undocumented, making them more vulnerable to arrest, exploitation, or deportation.

Rights groups continue to call on the UAE to dismantle the Kafala system and ensure greater protection for the millions of migrant workers who sustain key sectors of its economy.

According to the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), Australia's peak labour rights body, migrant workers constitute over 90% of the UAE's workforce and often face exorbitant recruitment fees and long-term debt bondage to their employers. 

Unofficial estimates suggest that around 1.5 million Bangladeshis work in the UAE, making it the second-most popular destination for Bangladeshi migrants.

Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury, former secretary general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira), told TBS, "To resolve this issue, labour-sending countries need to unite and collectively pressure the destination countries. If we jointly refuse to send workers until the Kafala system is abolished, the affected countries will be compelled to dismantle it."

He also emphasised the importance of intensifying diplomatic efforts to achieve this.

What is the Kafala system?

Under this system, foreign workers depend on a local sponsor (kafeel, usually the employer) who issues the employment contract and is supposed to bear full economic, social, and legal responsibility for them during the contract period. This arrangement places foreign labourers in a position of dependence and subordination to their sponsoring nationals.

The system exerts control over migrants by severely restricting opportunities for naturalisation and imposing a separate set of rights. Moreover, sponsors hold migrants' passports and other documents, controlling their mobility within the country and their ability to exit the territory—actions widely regarded as infringements on basic human rights.

Sponsors also oversee migrants' employment conditions and professional mobility since changing jobs typically requires changing sponsors, which is conditional on obtaining a "no-objection" certificate from the current employer.

Kafala reforms in Qatar, Saudi Arabia

Qatar formally abolished the Kafala system in 2019 and implemented substantial policies to dismantle it throughout 2020 and 2021.

In Saudi Arabia, foreign workers have been able to switch jobs without their employers' permission since 2021, following long-awaited labour reforms in the Gulf region's most populous country.

Referring to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, migrant rights activist Syed Saiful Haque said: "When we spoke to returnee migrants from those countries, we found that our workers are still not fully benefiting from the relaxation of the Kafala system. They remain vulnerable, as many employers are still not complying with the new rules. There needs to be strict monitoring by both the destination and source countries."

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) spoke out in late 2024 against Australia's new trade deal with the UAE, calling it one of the worst bilateral free trade agreements Australia has ever negotiated.

In a statement, the ACTU highlighted that the Kafala system enables employers to routinely confiscate the passports of migrant workers and exposes those who leave their employer to punishments, deportation, and detention.

Wage theft, poor working conditions, extreme heat exposure, and abuse are common hazards faced by mostly Southeast Asian migrant workers employed in construction, cleaning, agriculture, and security sectors.

In the UAE, migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to exploitation. Sponsors who confiscate passports or withhold wages face no penalties, while domestic workers often work more than 12 hours a day, seven days a week, with few or no holidays. These workers are frequently subjected to widely documented psychological, physical, and sexual abuse.