Keywords: News, media, journalism and public opinion

This paper analyzes the variation in ways that different communities in Qatar perceived the likelihood and effects of changes to the state’s immigration laws. Criticism of GCC countries’ labor laws from international media and human right organizations has become focused on Qatar in the context of its hosting of the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup. To meet its rapid infrastructure development needs, the country relies heavily on foreign labor force, regulated by the sponsorship system (kafala). The system has been consistently scrutinized for failing to provide adequate protection to migrant workers in Qatar against employer abuse, with reported concerns such as passport withholding, delays in salary payments, poor living conditions, lack of labor mobility, etc.

On May 14, 2014, the Government of Qatar announced that the Law No. 4 of 2009, which regulates the entry, exit and residency of expatriates in Qatar, would be reformed and replaced by Law No. 21 of 2015. Prior to knowing the content of the changes and the implementation date of December 14, 2016, and in light of the recent introduction of the Wage Protection System (WPS), researchers at Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) asked both Qatari nationals as well as expatriate workers (low and high income) about their level of understanding and perceptions about these upcoming changes to the sponsorship system.

Additionally, using the same quarterly telephone surveys, low-income expatriate workers were asked to report about their level of satisfaction with the way their employer treats them at the workplace and several other questions related to their working conditions including whether they receive their salary on time. We also measured the degree of support for the new changes, including how they will affect the businesses, social fabric and expectations for an improved international reputation.

This study illustrates the power of survey research to help better understand complex social processes generally, and labor migration in particular, issues of increasing importance in the current world economy.