Qatar Announces Labour Law Amendments Restricting Workers' Right to Strike

As reported by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre on July 26, 2026, the Qatari government has introduced new amendments to its 2004 Labour Law that further erode the rights of its massive migrant workforce. While the government claims Law No. 9 of 2026 is intended to 'modernize' the labor market, human rights observers warn that the legislation introduces significant new barriers to collective action and legal redress. According to the report, the amendments specifically make it harder for workers to launch strikes or participate in organized protests, criminalizing actions that were already heavily restricted. The resource centre notes that these changes come at a time when hundreds of thousands of workers are still seeking unpaid wages from the 2022 World Cup era. Instead of facilitating these claims, the new law revises the dispute resolution process in a way that further empowers employers. Furthermore, the legislation introduces 'administrative sanctions' that can be used to target recruitment agencies and individual workers who do not comply with increasingly rigid Ministry of Labour requirements. As reported by legal experts at Dentons, the law also clarifies post-termination non-competition clauses, allowing employers to legally prevent workers from changing jobs for up to two years, effectively reviving a key component of the kafala system that the government previously claimed to have abolished. The report highlights that these amendments were promulgated directly by the Amir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, signaling a top-down retrenchment of labor rights. Human rights groups argue that the timing of the law—coinciding with extreme summer heatwaves—leaves outdoor workers even more vulnerable, as they are now legally deterred from protesting dangerous working conditions or the lack of adequate cooling facilities.