Migrant workers who constructed stadiums for the World Cup in Qatar have endured “persistent and widespread labour rights violations”, which include nationality-based discrimination, illegal recruitment practices and, in some cases, unpaid wages, according to allegations in a new report by human rights group Equidem.
While the report also documents a number of cases of good practice, including “adequate channels for reporting concerns with working conditions”, good access to healthcare, satisfactory safety measures and decent living conditions, Equidem’s findings conclude that Qatar has been a “hostile environment” for stadium workers.
It claims that many of the workers interviewed for its report faced severe exploitation and were forced to work in a culture of fear and retribution, “sustained through nationality-based discrimination and workplace violence, including physical, verbal, and mental abuse”.
Equidem also alleges that companies working on stadium construction have “actively evaded inspections”, quoting a Nepali worker employed at Lusail stadium, which will host the World Cup final, who told researchers that workers were sent back to their camps before a visit from Fifa.
“Workers started to hide to get a chance to complain to the Fifa group. Then the company started checking if anyone is still on site. If anyone was caught hiding, they were either sent back home or had their salary deducted,” he said in the report.
Unpaid wages, failure to pay for overtime or end-of-service benefits and wages lower than promised were also reported. A Bangladeshi worker employed at a number of stadiums told researchers: “I do not get paid for overtime work and I work from 6am to 6pm seven days a week.”
In 2014, the local World Cup organising committee established a set of “worker welfare standards” to protect workers on its projects, including better worker accommodation, mechanisms to file complaints and a scheme to reimburse workers’ recruitment fees. About £20m has been repaid so far.
In recent years, the Qatari authorities have also introduced a number of labour reforms, chiefly the introduction of a minimum wage and the abolition of the kafala, or sponsorship, system.
However, Equidem’s report suggests there were significant shortcomings in the implementation of these measures.
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“The fact that such widespread labour abuse persists on worksites so heavily regulated by Qatar, Fifa and their partners, suggests that the reforms undertaken over the last five years have acted as cover for powerful businesses that seek to exploit migrant workers with impunity,” the report said.
The report calls on Fifa to establish a compensation fund for workers who have suffered during the building of the stadiums,
“Fifa can no longer turn a blind eye and should set up a compensation fund immediately", said Mustafa Qadri, Equidem’s executive director.
Qatar’s supreme committee, which is organising the tournament, did not respond to a request for comment.