By Andrew Warshaw
April 18 – The decision to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup has once again been called into question, this time by international trades unions across the world who have denounced the Gulf state’s record over the rights of migrant workers.
Human rights organisations have repeatedly questioned Qatar’s lack of workers’ rights but the World Cup organising committee has pledged publicly to establish strict labour standards for contractors hired to build World Cup venues.
In a letter to FIFA president Sepp Blatter, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) called for Qatar to be stripped of hosting rights because of its failure to end “21st-century slavery” and adopt international labour standards for more than one million foreign workers who, it says, face continued exploitation, poverty wages and denial of basic rights.
ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrow claims discussions with Qatari authorities since the December 2010 ballot have produced no results.
She also claims the ITUC has obtained a leaked copy of a Charter for Migrant Workers drafted by Qatar’s World Cup organising committee which apparently “shows contradictions with Qatari law and fails to give workers any real rights or protection from slavery conditions.”
“This is not a move we take lightly. The 2022 World Cup was awarded years ahead of schedule; if a new venue is selected in the next two years there is still time for the infrastructure to be in place. FIFA must act now – the longer the delay, the more workers will suffer and die.”
“FIFA and Qatar have spoken frequently about need for reform, but the record is rife with broken promises.”
Burrow says the ITUC will continue to step up the pressure on FIFA if it fails to call for a revote at its annual congress in Mauritius at the end of next month.
The chance of that happening or of Qatar being stripped is almost non-existant unless enough FIFA member nations support the idea. But Burrow said: “Allegations of corruption and vote-buying among FIFA executives, extreme heat endangering athletes and migrant workers receiving poverty pay and even fewer legal protections are enough reasons for FIFA to reopen the voting process.”
Neither Qatar nor Fifa have yet responded to the ITUC’s demands which seem bound to be viewed in some circles as sensationalist.
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