Five years have passed since Qatar secured the World Cup of 2022 and the working conditions remain deplorable and have claimed the lives of many workers. Deaths for which absolutely no research has yet to be done.
As rightly pointed out by the newspaper «The Independent», FIFA had promised drafting a report on the years of exploitation of the workers in the country in order to make a series of reforms. This of course, has not been done yet.
Amnesty International argues that FIFA has made few steps to push the hosts of the World Cup of 2022 in order to improve working conditions.
They have also accused the administration of the World Football Federation that they have yet to comply with the promise made last May to investigate the arrest and detention of German journalists and journalists of the BBC, who were in Qatar to investigate the working and living conditions of migrant workers.
Meanwhile, media in India reported yesterday that the country’s embassy has officially registered the death of 260 Indians in Qatar in 2015, including 20 dead workers during the month of November- as compared to 279 registered last year.
Amnesty International has conducted five research missions in Qatar over the last four years. Their objective; To investigate the conditions under which migrant workers live and work in the country who are expected to exceed two million over the next two years.
What was noted was that the commitment to increase labor inspectors to four hundred by the end of 2015 had been suspended for a year. At the same time they have not changed the system that essentially converts migrant workers to … property objects of their employers so that the former can not either change jobs and employers, or leave the country without the permission of … their boss.
At the same time, workers still receive their basic salary on time, according to Amnesty International. A system of protection of wages which requires companies to pay their employees on time through direct bank deposits was voted into legislation in February, but only came into force last month. Delaying payment of wages seems to be a widespread problem causing migrant workers and their families to live in squalid conditions.
The Mustafa Qadri, member of the research team of Amnesty International in Qatar, said: “Few things have been done to combat the poor conditions concerning migrant workers. We are talking about a recipe for disastruction of human rights. The reforms proposed by the government have completely failed to address the key issues and now thousands of workers are at the mercy of their employers. But even these changes are overdue. If no action is taken – immediately – every football fan who will visit Qatar, 2022 should consider whether its been worth the the blood, sweat and tears of migrant workers.
“FIFA has played its role in this sad phenomenon. They knew that there are issues with labor rights in Qatar. It should work closely with the authorities of Qatar and business partners to ensure that the World Cup is not built on the exploitation. ”
Amnesty International urged many times Fifa to press the authorities of Qatar for implementing and monitoring reforms to protect workers. They also asked FIFA and its business partners to implement reforms on human rights.
Fifa made no reference whatsoever to workers’ rights, when it gloated last September for the completion of work in the 40,000 seat capacity Khalifa Stadium, Qatar. Instead, officials of the World Federation praised the engineers of the project and of course the construction company for the rapid progress of work and the renovation of the space.