Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia can feel free and protected, with more legal rights now that the Kafala System has officially ceased to exist.
The old sponsorship system had come to represent the power that employers had over migrant workers. Having come into existence over five decades ago, Kafala determined the job and residential status of the migrant workers based on their sponsors (local). This had led to many workers struggling to move around within or outside the Kingdom. It also restricted their legal rights making it difficult for them to seek justice in a court of law.
Over the past few decades, Kafala has been associated with migrant employees being ill-treated, taken advantage of and more or less enslaved.
The abolishment has been long coming because many human rights organisations have been trying to draw international attention to the system and its banes.
The ban was announced a few months ago under the efforts of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to project the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as an employee-friendly nation and ideal for foreign investments.
As part of the labour reforms under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has also launched a Unified Employment Contract—a standardised employer-employee agreement, which will secure and protect the rights of employees in the Kingdom and ensure transparency at the workplace. This digital framework is legally binding and is aimed at making employment relationships safer, more secure and less complicated.