By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
February 11 – Twenty-four hours before a FIFA-imposed deadline to explain what steps are being taken for improving human rights, Qatar’s World Cup authorities have issued detailed and unprecedented guidelines which they hope will answer international condemnation of their treatment of migrant workers.
The 50-page report, entitled ‘Workers’ Welfare Standards’ and drawn up in conjunction with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), gives a comprehensive breakdown of the measures that 2022 organisers will expect contractors and sub-contractors to employ once stadium and infrastructure projects get into full swing.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has described the plight of the workers, especially those from Nepal, as “unacceptable” and is understood to have raised the subject with the Emir of Qatar during a visit to Doha last November.
Almost 200 Nepalese men are reported to have died working on construction projects in Qatar and last month, a letter from FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke to the newly-named Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy demanded a “detailed report on the improvement of working conditions” by February 12 with “information on specific steps” being taken.
The requested report will be used to prepare for a hearing at the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday when FIFA executive committee member Theo Zwanziger will deliver an update on Qatar’s human rights improvements. It is reported that Zahir Belounis, the French-Algerian footballer whose plight in Qatar made worldwide headlines, will also address the meeting.
Concerns over the welfare of migrant workers employed on Qatar’s World Cup sites was first highlighted by The Guardian newspaper, followed by a hard-hitting Amnesty International analysis which condemned widespread exploitation of working practises. In particular, the criticism focussed on the so-called ‘kefala’ system that ties foreign workers to their so-called ‘sponsors’ who have to give permission before any employees can leave the country. Among the major concerns addressed in the new report are:
– Health and Safety: foster and actively encourage a world-class health and safety culture;
– Employment standards: comply with SC’s required employment standards and all relevant Qatari laws;
– Equality: treat all workers equally and fairly, irrespective of their origin, nationality, ethnicity, gender or religion;
– Dignity: ensure that workers’ dignity is protected and preserved throughout their employment and repatriation;
– Unlawful Practices: prohibit child labour, forced labour, and human trafficking practices;
– Working and Living Conditions: create and maintain safe and healthy working and living conditions;
– Grievances: prohibit retaliation against workers who exercise any rights deriving from SC’s required employment standards or relevant Qatari laws;
– Access to Information: provide access to accurate information in the appropriate language regarding workers’ rights deriving from SC’s required employment standards or relevant Qatari laws; and
– Training: provide workers with training on skills necessary to carry out their tasks, including areas related to their health and safety.
– Payment of wages: the Standards require contractors to set up bank accounts for their workers, which will help facilitate payment, creating an auditable transaction system that will help the Supreme Committee verify that all workers are being paid in full and on time.
– Accommodations: Comprehensive specifications for worker accommodations, setting clear guidelines for everything from the number of beds per room to a minimum standard for cleanliness and hygiene.
– Enforcement: a 4-tier audit system, implemented with the support of independent third-party auditors. Progress reports based on the audits are to be made public in order to track progress and share lessons learnt with government stakeholders and the international community.
Crucially, under the new standards, workers will only be expected to work eight hours a day and a 48-hour week, be paid overtime, take proper holidays and “shall be entitled to terminate their Employment Contract without notice”. In addition, on completion of any contract, employers must “pay for the repatriation travel expenses” of all migrant workers.
These are fundamentally important laws and should not be under-estimated in Qatar’s attempt to address global concerns about its employment system. In an accompanying statement, Qatar’s World Cup organisers promised the standards will cover “the entire chain of contracting, from recruitment to repatriation.” Companies who do not comply can have their contracts terminated.
“We have always believed that Qatar’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup would be a catalyst to accelerate positive initiatives already being undertaken by Qatar, which will leave a legacy of enhanced, sustainable and meaningful progress in regards to worker welfare across the country,” said Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, and the public face of Qatar’s World Cup bid.
” We already see this progress taking place across Qatar on a daily basis, and will continue to work hard to make our vision become the ever-present reality on the ground.”
The statement made the point that the ILO had been heavily involved in drawing up the charter and that the Qatari government had increased the number of trained labour inspectors by 30% and had conducted 11,500 spot checks in the past three months.
While there are bound to be sceptics as to whether the new set of workers’ rights will be properly enforced, Qatar knows the eyes of the world – as well as those of FIFA – will be on them to deliver on an issue that has become far more contentious than whether the tournament is played in summer or winter.
The Supreme Committee promised, for its part, that the charter’s principles will be “robustly and effectively monitored and enforced for the benefit of all workers”.
HE Dr Abdullah Saleh Mubarak Al Khulaifi, head of the Ministry of Labour & Social Affairs (MOLSA), said that offenders would be sanctioned accordingly.
“Qatar is a young, developing nation experiencing a period of economic growth unprecedented in history, anywhere in the world. And we cannot achieve these plans without the help of migrant workers,” he said.
“We applaud the work of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, and other major bodies like the Qatar Foundation, in specifying high standards of workers’ conditions on their construction projects. MOLSA will continue to support in enforcing these standards, and Qatar’s existing labour laws, and to work with other government bodies in Qatar in holding accountable employers who fail to uphold these laws.”
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