By Andrew Warshaw
July 21 – Qatar’s authorities have approved key measures to improve the treatment of foreign workers amid pressure to comply with international standards in the buildup to the 2022 World Cup.
The reforms were announced by minister of labour and social affairs Abdullah Saleh Mubarak al-Khulaifi and include a requirement that companies set up bank accounts for workers, pay wages electronically and – crucially – relax the rules on working in the stifling heat of mid-summer.
FIFA is closely watching progress in Qatar, not least the discriminatory kafala system which binds migrant workers to ‘sponsor’ employers.
Currently the old system is still in place but in mid-May both FIFA president Sepp Blatter and the executive committee colleague put in charge of monitoring conditions in Qatar, Theo Zwanziger, postponed a scheduled visit to the Gulf state to inspect facilities after the authorities promised they would reform the rule, which has caused so much global outrage.
Qatar has the highest proportion of migrant workers per population in the world and in a statement al-Khulaifa said: “We know there is much more to do, but we are making definite progress.”
Dozens of overseas workers, mainly Nepalese, have died in Qatar, many due to the oppressive heat. Blatter has already described the plight of the workers as “unacceptable” and is understood to have raised the subject with the Emir of Qatar.
Under the new rules, outdoor work between 11:30 am and 3:00 pm from mid-June to the end of August will be prohibited. Companies will also have to pay wages within seven days of the due date or face as yet unspecified sanctions.
“The reforms announced in May will replace the kafala system with a modern contract between worker and employer,” Khulaifi said without mentioning a time scale.
“However, the direction we are taking is firmly set and every effort is being made to put in place the reforms as quickly as possible – as these most recent measures show,” he said.
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