We explained that after paying workers, “the Fund should have recourse to obtain reimbursement from the employers under the law, but the Fund would be in a better position to utilise judicial processes to obtain reimbursement than a single worker ever can.” In 2017, our report Labour Protection for the Vulnerable urged a similar statutory relief fund. In February 2018, we wrote in greater detail about a Backstop Fund in the article Employer sent to jail, worker’s compensation still unpaid. Is this good enough? The idea was mentioned again in the article When court orders are worthless: the Zach Engineering case. A small portion of the Foreign Workers Levy that the government collects can be earmarked to support the Backstop Fund. The Ministry of Manpower has yet to show interest in the idea. Commitment to change Taken together, the many measures that Qatar has instituted over just the last few years, including the most recent liberalisation of job mobility for migrant workers, demonstrate a political commitment to reshaping the migrant labour landscape for the better. Implementation will still be a rocky road, but at least the direction is clear. For more information, see also: ILO: Qatar adopts a non-discriminatory minimum wage ILO: Assessment of the Wage Protection System in Qatar (June 2019) TMF Group: Qatar Wage Protection System Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs: An explanatory lea et on WPS (unclear date) Human Rights Watch: “How can we work without wages?” (24 August 2020)