The Fifa World Cup 2022 is a little over a week away and its host nation Qatar has spent years preparing for this globally anticipated event.
The country, however, has been accused of exploiting the workers who were responsible for building stadiums and other infrastructure.
Foreign workers in the country are reportedly entrapped under the “kafala” system used in Arab Gulf countries. The kafala system is a legal framework that governs migrant workers' relationships with their employers.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the structure was created as a result of increasing demand for cheap labour in Gulf economies, as well as the desperation of many foreign workers seeking employment and the opportunity to send money home to their families.
“Because the system falls under the jurisdiction of interior ministries rather than labour ministries, workers have no protection under the host country’s labour law. This leaves them vulnerable to exploitation and denies them such rights as the ability to enter a labour dispute process or join a union,” said the organisation.
A report by human rights charity Equidem titled We Work Like Robots: Discrimination and Exploitation of Migrant Workers in Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 Hotels was published in August and documented the alleged significant labour and human rights violations at 13 out of the 17 Fifa partner hotel groups.
Here is what some of the workers told Equidem:
– “For nine months, we were made to work for more than 12 hours a day, without a day off. In order to keep our hours hidden, we were prevented from clocking in and clocking out. I was on the verge of going insane.”
– “We never get enough rest or sleep when the hotel is busy. We work like robots without food or water continuously, sometimes for 15 hours during peak season. From associates to the management level, if the hotel is busy, we have to stay. We are not paid for these extra hours.”
– “We get sexual remarks from our colleagues often. They tease us. I get comments like: ‘Wow, you look so sexy today’ or ‘Your make-up is superb - my heart is swooning’. Sometimes they touch us inappropriately while (we are) working together. I cannot say anything because, if I do, they will say that it was unintentional and they will dismiss me. I just ignore comments and advances.”
IOL Business