After further allegations by Amnesty International have the WM-Organizers in Qatar admitted the exploitation of workers in connection with football tournaments in the country.
The US news agency reported AP on citing an opinion. The human rights organization had previously published a report accusing private security companies in Qatar of exploiting migrant workers.
Up to 84 hours per week
These are “serious human rights violations” exposed to the “Partial Forced Labour” correspond, said Amnesty. Workers would have had to do work against their will and under threat of punishment. “Some of them had to work up to 84 hours a week – and with the knowledge of the Qatari government”criticized the human rights organization.
Not following rules in several areas
According to the statement by the World Cup organizers, three companies did not comply with the rules in several areas. Accordingly, private security companies that were involved in the Club World Cup and the Arabian Cup were affected.
“These breaches were totally unacceptable and have resulted in a range of measures including the placing of contractors on watch lists or blacklists to prevent them from working on future projects – including the FIFA World Cup – before those contractors are brought to the Department of Labor for further investigation and penalties have been reported”it was said accordingly.
“No Day Off”
Amnesty cited interviews with staff from eight security firms for the new report. In it, employees complain that they are being denied days off and vacation. “We work from January to January, from Sunday to Sunday, no day off”, the organization quotes a security guard from Uganda. Other employees had their wages reduced if they were unable to work due to illness.
“Qatarian government not trying seriously”
At least three companies have security personnel at World Cup projects and events of the world association FIFA borrowed, it said. Here, too, some of the guards were subjected to forced labor. “Our findings again show that the Qatari government is not serious about enforcing its own laws and holding those who break them accountable.”explained Amnesty’s Middle East expert, Katja Müller-Fahlbusch.
The rich emirate is repeatedly accused of exploiting migrant workers and other human rights violations. Qatar’s government denies the allegations, citing reforms. This is how the kafala system was dismantled. This binds foreign workers tightly to a local guarantor such as an employer and often opens the door to exploitation. In Qatar, the law allows migrants to leave the country or change jobs without the consent of their employer. Human rights activists criticize that although the kafala system has officially been abolished, it is “de facto” still in place.
The soccer World Cup starts on November 21st and runs until December 18th. In response to human rights violations, calls for a boycott have repeatedly been heard in recent months.
Source: dpa