The International Trade Union Confederation claims to have secured the agreement of the government in Qatar to significantly improve the physical and employment situation of two million migrant workers, including ending the kafala system, which the ITUC has described as modern slavery.

Human rights abuses such as kafala, by which workers are tied to a single employer, low pay, poor accommodation, labouring in dangerous heat and hundreds of unexplained deaths, have been subjected to intense global scrutiny and criticism since 2010 when Fifa voted for Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup.

The government concessions, reported by state media, were announced just before the International Labour Organisation was due to decide this week whether to hold a formal commission of inquiry into the conditions for migrant workers building Qatar’s massive infrastructure programme and 2022 stadiums. Sharan Burrow, the ITUC general secretary, said, following the agreements, she will recommend that formal complaints made against Qatar be withdrawn, meaning there will be no ILO commission of inquiry.

Nicholas McGeehan, an expert on migrant workers’ issues in the Gulf, sounded a note of caution, however. “All we have today are promises, and promises have been broken before,” he said. “I feel we need to put expressions of optimism on hold until we see full details, changes in the law where necessary, and a time frame for promised reforms to be implemented.”

The ITUC said the agreements represented a “breakthrough to end kafala”, principally because the government has said employers will no longer have the right to refuse visas for workers to leave the country. Burrow acknowledged that this does not address a central feature of kafala, which prevents workers moving jobs, but she said negotiations would start on that next.

Qatar state media reported that the cabinet, chaired by the prime minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, had approved changing the law on “the regulation of the entry and departure of expats”. Burrows said the change would mean that employers can no longer decide whether workers should be given exit visas; instead decisions will be made by a government committee.

The Qatar News Agency also reported that the labour minister, Issa Saad al-Jafali al-Nuaimi, had told foreign diplomats the country would introduce a minimum wage, although no details were given about its level, or when it will be introduced.

Other measures the ITUC said it had secured from the government included an end to the human rights abuse of workers having their promised contracts of employment replaced by worse terms when they arrive in the country. The ITUC said contracts would in future be lodged with a government authority. It said the government had also committed to having workers’ committees and a disputes resolution process for dealing with complaints and grievances. Burrow said the country’s ruler, the emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, supported these reforms.

“This set of commitments explodes the model of modern slavery known as the kafala system in the Gulf States; Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates should now follow Qatar’s lead,” Burrow said.

A spokesman for Amnesty International, which has persistently campaigned against human rights abuses of migrant workers in the Gulf, also greeted the news cautiously: “We are not able to assess the significance of these developments until we have seen the full details of the government’s commitments. However, today’s announcements have clear potential to have a positive impact on migrant workers’ lives, depending on how they’re implemented.

“We look forward to seeing the Qatari government committing to and delivering substantive reform of its sponsorship system, including ensuring that workers can leave the country and change jobs without their employer’s permission.”