Amnesty International has produced a new report, ‘The dark side of migration’ – which puts the spotlight on Qatar’s construction sector ahead of the 2022 World cup.
The report finds Qatar’s construction sector rife with abuse, with workers employed on multi-million dollar projects suffering serious exploitation.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) estimates that more workers will be killed in the construction of the 2022 infrastructure than footballers playing on the pitches.
There are 1.3 million migrant workers toiling to deliver the World Cup under slave-like conditions. There are no guarantees they will be paid on time or even have a minimum wage, or be allowed to change jobs, leave the country or afforded International Labour Organisation rights and protections.
Unite assistant general secretary, Gail Cartmail said:“Unite is right behind Amnesty International’s report and the ITUC’s campaign for urgent reforms for migrant workers involved in the construction of the 2022 World Cup infrastructure in Qatar. The state claims it is reviewing the Kafala system which means workers are not allowed to leave an employer without its permission. A review is not enough, there needs to be urgent action to avoid the 2022 World Cup becoming a catastrophe for workers. It is time that real pressure was put on this Gulf state to act now.”
