The Qatari government has said that labour law reforms would bring "tangible benefits" and urged patience from critics who say the proposed changes are inadequate.
The new regulations aimed at making it easier for migrant workers to change jobs and leave the country come into effect on Tuesday.
"The new law is the latest step towards improving and protecting the rights of every expatriate worker in Qatar," Labour Minister Issa al-Nuami said in a statement.
The gas-rich Gulf state is one of the wealthiest in the world but its treatment of foreign workers from countries like India, Nepal and Bangladesh has come under scrutiny as it spends billions of dollars on building new infrastructure ahead of hosting the 2022 football World Cup.
A work-sponsorship system known as "Kefala" currently requires all foreign workers to obtain their employer's consent to travel abroad or switch jobs, a measure rights groups say leaves workers prone to exploitation and forced labour.
The reforms will establish the creation of state-run "grievance committees" to which workers can appeal if employers deny them permission.
They will also allow workers who have completed contracts to change jobs freely and imposes fines of up to 25,000 riyal ($6,865.87) on businesses who confiscate employees' passports.
Ashish (not his real name) a steelworker in Doha since 2007, said it was too soon for him to know if the new law would improve the situation.
'Rights abuses'
Although he is in possession of his passport, the 36-year-old from India's Uttar Pradesh said overtime pay was an issue, and that his overtime pay was often late by as much as six months.
"Sub-contractors are rubbish - they don't pay on time. They withhold salaries up to six months," he said.
Still, Ashish is optimistic about one aspect of the new law: "Even if it's difficult to seek a no-objection letter from my employer, as long as the new company I'm applying to is ready to give me a visa, I can exit Doha and come back in 5-10 days," he said.
| We urge the international community not to draw any definitive conclusions until there has been time to see the new law in action |
Amnesty International said in a statement that the new law would "barely scratch the surface of an abusive system".
The UK-based rights group called on Qatar to abolish exit permits altogether and ban passport confiscation, as leaving those mechanisms in place leaves workers "at serious risk of human rights abuses".
Amnesty International has been among the vocal critics of the country's labour laws, calling for improvements that would spefically target working and living conditions of construction workers.
"We urge the international community not to draw any definitive conclusions until there has been time to see the new law in action," minister al-Nuami said.
Qatar is building hotels, a port, a financial district and several football stadiums linked by desert highways as part of a $200bn construction boom funded by natural gas revenues that have declined since global oil prices fell in mid-2014.
A workforce of 2.1 million foreigners outnumbers Qatari citizens by about 10 to one. Unions and labour protests are banned.
The UN's International Labour Organization will issue a report in March 2017, determining whether Qatar is taking sufficient steps to prevent forced labour.
Source: News agencies
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