The International Labour Organization (ILO) has criticized Qatar over its policy toward overseas construction workers, as official figures revealed the death toll among migrants has not abated despite international pressure.
The UN agency called for a series of reforms in the Gulf emirate to end the abuse of workers’ rights that has been highlighted in a string of reports by the Guardian.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) said the organization’s criticism of Qatar — based on the findings of a three-person panel — was “exceptionally strong.”
The confederation has claimed that 4,000 workers could die before a ball is kicked at the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals.
Qatar is spending £123 billion (US$205 billion) in the next four years alone on a major infrastructure construction drive, of which the World Cup is part. Authorities have said they are investigating claims of migrant deaths and abuse of workers’ rights.
New figures from the Nepalese and Indian embassies in the Middle Eastern country show that 36 workers died there in February — although not all of those may have been on building sites — while figures from the Indian embassy show that a further 26 Indian migrant workers died last month.
In February, the Guardian reported that more than 500 Indian migrant workers had died in Qatar since January 2012, while more than 380 Nepalese died there in 2012 and last year.
The ILO upheld a complaint from the ITUC and global union federation Building and Wood Workers International on the right of migrant workers to join a trade union and collectively bargain in Qatar.
“The ILO’s criticism of Qatar is exceptionally strong and confirms the appalling lack of even the most basic legal protections for Qatar’s exploited migrant workforce,” ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrows said. “Qatar’s rulers must end their system of modern slavery and accept that their outdated and repressive labor laws have to change.”
The three-person panel — comprising a government representative from China, an employee representative from the United Arab Emirates and a worker representative from Nepal — called on the Qatari government to ensure sufficient sanctions were imposed on the contractors and middle men who exploit the kafala (sponsorship) system.
The system is in place to monitor overseas workers and under it, unskilled laborers are required to have an in-country sponsor responsible for their visa and legal status.
A series of newspaper reports and studies by human rights organizations have shown that large numbers of the 1.4 million migrant workers in the emirate endure appalling conditions and that some are left effectively trapped in the country by the kafala system that ties them to their employers.
“The committee calls on the government to take effective measures to ensure that adequate sanctions are applied to employers who impose forced labour,” the ILO report said. “In this regard, it emphasizes the importance of ensuring that law enforcement actors and the judiciary are adequately trained and sensitized on forced labor practices in the country, particularly as penalties play an essential role in the deterrence of forced labor practices.”
A delegation of members from the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights traveled to Qatar last week. Committee chair Mario Dravid said he had been told by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani and other government representatives that Doha was taking the problem seriously and planned changes to the kafala system.
“The delegation was informed that there will be a deep and comprehensive revision of the sponsorship system in the country,” Dravid said.
The ILO has given Qatar until November to report back on reforms to its labor laws.
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