Saudi to reform kafala worker sponsorship system in 2021

Saudi Arabia plans to cancel a foreign worker sponsorship system, known as kafala, and replace it with a new form of contract between employers and employees, the financial newspaper Maaal said on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources, reports Reuters.

Saudi Arabia, which this year is chairing the Group of 20 major economies (G20), seeks to boost the private sector - and make it more attractive to foreign talent - under an ambitious plan to diversify its oil-based economy.

The kafala system, which Maaal said has been in place for seven decades in Saudi, generally binds a migrant worker to one employer.