Amnesty report reveals labour abuse in Qatar
Migrant workers face widespread abuse at the hands of employers, human rights group finds
Senior officials from Amnesty International have released a report highlighting the extent of human rights abuse in Qatar’s construction sector.
The report stated migrant workers face widespread abuse at the hands of their employers, and the organisation has urged the government to take action towards correcting these practices.
Titled “The Dark Side of Migration: Spotlight on Qatar’s construction sector ahead of the World Cup,” the 169-page study was based on interviews with workers, employers and government officials.
The documented abuses include “non-payment of wages, harsh and dangerous working conditions, and shocking standards of accommodation,” said a Gulf News report.
“It is simply inexcusable in one of the richest countries in the world,” said Salil Shetty, secretary-general of Amnesty International in a press statement, “that so many migrant workers are being ruthlessly exploited, deprived of their pay and left struggling to survive.”
A large section of the workers come from South or Southeast Asia, and are recruited at a “remarkable rate” to support the country’s construction boom, said Shetty. Most migrants, he added, “arrive in Qatar full of hopes, only to have these crushed soon after they arrive. There’s no time to delay — the government must act now to end this abuse.”
Interviewed workers included Nepalese employed by a company critical to the supply processes for the FIFA headquarters for the 2022 World Cup, who claimed they were “treated like cattle” in a working environment that extended up to 12 hours a day and seven days a week, even in Qatar’s hottest summer months.
The Amnesty report also interviewed “dozens of construction workers who were prevented from leaving the country for many months — leaving them trapped in Qatar with no way out.”
“Construction companies and the Qatari authorities alike are failing migrant workers,” added Shetty. “Employers have displayed an appalling disregard for the basic human rights of migrant workers. Many are taking advantage of a permissive environment and lax enforcement of labour protections to exploit construction workers.”
The organisation feels Qatar’s government has the opportunity to repair these errors. “The world’s spotlight will continue to shine on Qatar in the run-up to the 2022 World Cup, offering the government a unique chance to demonstrate on a global stage that they are serious about their commitment to human rights and can act as a role model to the rest of the region,” concluded Shetty.
