Qatar World Cup: FIFA plans worker welfare panel
Oversight body ‘to ensure decent working conditions’
FIFA plans to set up a panel to “ensure decent working conditions” at all World Cup stadium projects, amid ongoing allegations of labour abuses in Qatar.
On a two-day visit to Qatar, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced the creation of an oversight body with independent members to monitor the systems in place at all World Cup stadiums.
A statement by FIFA said the new body will cover all FIFA competitions, and has received a “positive reaction” from authorities in Qatar.
“Over the last few weeks I have been following very closely the discussions on FIFA and human rights, particularly around the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar,” said Infantino.
Amnesty International said in March that migrant workers for the Qatar World Cup are still suffering from abuses, despite promises to boost welfare standards.
Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, responsible for overseeing the FIFA World Cup 2022, earlier this month appointed a third party company to monitor worker welfare.
“I have seen the measures taken by the Supreme Committee and I am confident that we are on the right track,” Infantino said.
“An encouraging example is the Supreme Committee’s response to issues that have occurred, such as the ones raised by Amnesty International in its latest report, which were already tackled by the Supreme Committee prior to the release of the report. This shows that the mechanisms in place are working related to FIFA World Cup construction although challenges remain.”
For the Qatar World Cup in 2022, the FIFA body will “validate the quality and effectiveness of the due diligence processes in place, will analyse the regular findings of the independent auditing system, the remediation measures taken by the Supreme Committee to address any issues and report about findings, recommendations and progress, with the aim of increasing transparency”, according to a FIFA statement.
