The appalling conditions faced by thousands of migrant workers building the infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar have not improved despite a growing outcry, according to the International Trade Union Confederation [ITUC].
Human rights organizations, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the European Parliament have raised concerns about the plight of migrant workers in Qatar after an investigation revealed a rising toll of death, disease and misery at its World Cup construction sites.
However, after a four-day visit to the country by an ITUC delegation, the organization’s general-secretary, Sharan Burrow, said they had found “no improvement in living and working conditions” of migrant workers.
“This is an easy choice for the Qatari government. The perplexing question is, why won’t they take it? Professional and poor workers alike tell the same stories; they came to Qatar with optimism and goodwill, only to face despair when their employer decides they are disposable and refuses to pay wages, sacks them without benefits, and/or refuses to sign their exit permit,” she said.
Burrow said that during the visit the 11-member delegation held worker hearings and were shocked by “tales of terror,” stories increasing numbers of women and children in detention centers, and rising discontent and unrest in workers in “squalid labor camps.”
“What we’ve seen this week can be summarized as how not to design a system for the global workforce on any basis: human and labor rights; goodwill and international reputation or; productivity based on loyalty and efficiency,” Burrow said.
“International companies should be on notice about the reputational risk of doing business in Qatar without respect for workers’ rights,” she said.
The plight of migrant workers in Qatar was first reported in September. An investigation revealed that 44 Nepalese workers died from June 4 to Aug. 8, about half from heart failure or workplace accidents.
Workers described being forced to work in 50?C heat without drinking water by employers, who withhold salaries for several months and retain their passports to prevent them leaving the country.
The investigation found that sickness was endemic, that conditions were frequently overcrowded and insanitary, and that many were going hungry.
The ITUC has warned that as many as 4,000 migrant workers could die before a ball is kicked in 2022.
“Fair working conditions with a lasting effect must be introduced quickly in Qatar,” FIFA has said.
The Qatari authorities have insisted they are being proactive and say the World Cup can be a catalyst for change.
“FIFA have called for the improvement of labor standards and an end to the kafala system [which requires migrants to have a sponsor for their visa]. They will report back in March 2014. We can only hope the government will make the right choice,” Burrow said.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese