Workers rights in Qatar
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phillanth  London 21 Jun 15 5.39pm |
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I went to a fringe meeting at the UNISON trade union conference last week on workers rights in Qatar addressed by Malcolm Clarke from the Football Supporters Federation and Abdeslam Ouaddou who used play for Fulham, Olympiakos and in Qatar. Ouaddou said that the club he played for in Qatar cancelled his contract, refused to let him leave the country and made him train in 120 degree heat. He said that migrant workers working on stadiums for the 2022 World Cup are virtual slaves and have their passports confiscated so they cannot go home. It is thought that around 400 workers workers on World Cup related projects have died through being made to work in extreme heat without water and the total lack of health and safety on site. Our fans got a positive mention for the banners that the Holmesdale put up commenting on the state of the game last season. Seems to me that this is another reason why the World Cup should not be played in Qater. Maybe we should have a minute's silence for the dead workers before a game next season to highlight this scandal?
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 nairb75  Baltimore 22 Jun 15 4.26am |
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you're not touching on an inch of this. it's abominable. it's horrific. it is all but official state sponsored slavery. real countries, with any semblance of decency and even a modicum of human rights, should stand up and cancel their participation in WC 2022. you can't fix all of the ills on the planet. but slave building stadiums in the desert to be used a handful of times, ever, is a disgrace to any human.
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Ninjas Headband  Biggleswade 22 Jun 15 6.50am |
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Forget the corruption scandals. Qatar 2022 is the real shame of FIFA. How they could of allowed the worlds biggest competition to be played in a state with such obscene human rights atrocities must have been the final confirmation the the organisation is corrupt to the core. I wait to see what happens now with the investigations into FIFA but for the Qatari games not to be reevaluated would mean that we have failed the millions migra!nt slave workers in Qatar.
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| Proper_Gander Anerley 22 Jun 15 10.50am |
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The only way to hurt FIFA and Qatar22 is to go through their sponsors. They pay massive amounts of money to sponsor the tournament, and if their sponsorship results in bad press or lower sales through boycott, they will put pressure on FIFA (they already are tbf) and maybe even withdraw money. So, an actual large scale boycotting campaign over social media might actually do something, it's the only thing we as consumers can do. Put our money where our mouth is. Sponsors are: All very easy to avoid.
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| Qatarhorse Bolton 22 Jun 15 10.52am |
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Hi everyone - I work in Qatar within Construction and can tell you categorically that the reports in the British Media (BBC, Channel 4, papers etc.) are about 1% truth. The safety I have observed on the majority of sites is very good, of course some aren't as good but that comes down to the individual Contractors responsible. The government, clients, public bodies are doing all they can to improve safety. Given the number of man hours involved on these huge scale projects the accident frequency rate is less than the UK on most Projects. 400 people killed on 2022 Projects - absolute rubbish most of them haven't even started yet. I doubt the total upon completion would even be half that, and comparable to the UK death rate within contruction during the same time period (average of 70/year). They are also trying to gradually change the law to protect workers rights regarding passports etc. I have lived here for over two and a half years and believed the British Media and was very sceptical before I moved here but can say that although there are problems that are being worked on - it is no way near the portrayal made up to sell newspapers, influence public opinion, create scandal, push for FIFA revotes or whatever the reasons behind it.
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| maddog Wiltshire 22 Jun 15 11.30am |
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Thanks Qatarhorse - so you work for one of the companies accused of mistreating workers? Interesting. What’s your role? It is not just British media. Here is what Mustafa Qadri, Gulf Migrants' rights researcher at Amnesty International says: “The reality is that more than a year and half after Amnesty International highlighted rampant exploitation of migrants –little has been done to address the root causes of this abuse. “ More information from AI here: [Link] I agree with Proper_Gander’s point that it is the sponsors who will exert any real pressure. With that in mind it’s worth sharing these amended logo’s reflecting some of those sponsors involvement :
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| Qatarhorse Bolton 22 Jun 15 11.55am |
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I work for a UK based company that operates Internationally. Of the Projects that I have been involved as Project Manager in the past two years over 15 million man hours have been worked with ZERO deaths, we have had a couple of broken bones and that is it. That is a better stat than most UK Construction Companies and one I am extremely proud of. We recently undertook a survey of workers accommodation and again I was surprised by the vast majority was actually very good. One Contractor had rented 50 villas on a compound and the workers had access to good facilities. Unfortunately like most countries, you have a few rogue employers who take advantage of people and don't abide by the laws of the land, and it is these incidents that are reported. The majority of issues stems from the country of origin not Qatar, recruitment agents from India/nepal etc. will promise all sorts to the workers in their home country and get them to Qatar, they will charge them extortionate fees for this that they pay back gradually - the employers in Qatar pay a comparable fair wage and provide accommodation, travel, food and annual flights home to the workers who are in debt to the agents from their own countries to get them out to Qatar.
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| maddog Wiltshire 22 Jun 15 1.01pm |
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Thanks again Qatarhorse. I am glad to hear that your company has such an exemplary record - “better than most UK Construction Companies” as you say. I have no reason to doubt you on this. But your statement that the problems are down to “a few rogue employers” seems at odds with the reports of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch [Link] and the UN [Link] The criticisms highlighted by all of these groups are not based on exceptional cases but are criticisms of the system itself. And these are criticisms that have been acknowledged by the Qatari government when they promised reforms to the legal system. Amazingly one of the reforms promised was to transfer control of exit visas to the Minister of the Interior. Why do they even have exit visas? [Link] AI have been monitoring progress on these reforms promised by the Qatari government and they report absolutely no change on 4 of the 9 criticisms, very limited change on 4 others and some partial progress on just one. [Link]
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| turbohorsebox Coulsdon 22 Jun 15 1.14pm |
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Quote Proper_Gander at 22 Jun 2015 10.50am
The only way to hurt FIFA and Qatar22 is to go through their sponsors. They pay massive amounts of money to sponsor the tournament, and if their sponsorship results in bad press or lower sales through boycott, they will put pressure on FIFA (they already are tbf) and maybe even withdraw money. So, an actual large scale boycotting campaign over social media might actually do something, it's the only thing we as consumers can do. Put our money where our mouth is. Sponsors are: All very easy to avoid. Too easy to avoid really - I already avoid them all except VISA. And boycotting that would mean changing my bank as they only do a VISA debit card.
All good. Nothing bad. |
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| Qatarhorse Bolton 22 Jun 15 1.17pm |
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They have exit visas to stop people leaving the country who have debt (car loans, accommodation, speeding fines, etc.) as when the financial crisis hit in places like Qatar and more so UAE expats left owing banks millions, which ultimately the government's stumped up for. If you have no issues surrounding your person you can leave the country freely as I do on a multiple exit permit renewed yearly. If I suddenly stopped turning up for work, didn't pay my car loan to the bank every month, had lots of unpaid speeding fines and tried to leave the country, one of the above would probably have contacted immigration and ask that I not be allowed to leave the country - I see no issue with this. All expats know what we are signing up to and the laws of the land and if you adhere to them then you will never have a problem. If you are a primadonna footballer who is used to doing what they want and don't respect the Contract you have signed up to and have been ill advised then don't start crying when your employer refuses to let you leave the Contract and holds you to the conditions of your Contract.
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| johnfirewall 22 Jun 15 1.40pm |
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Already a thread in Football Talk, with multiple references to thousands of deaths so someone's way off the mark.
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| Stuk Top half 22 Jun 15 2.14pm |
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Quote Qatarhorse at 22 Jun 2015 10.52am
Hi everyone - I work in Qatar within Construction and can tell you categorically that the reports in the British Media (BBC, Channel 4, papers etc.) are about 1% truth. The safety I have observed on the majority of sites is very good, of course some aren't as good but that comes down to the individual Contractors responsible. The government, clients, public bodies are doing all they can to improve safety. Given the number of man hours involved on these huge scale projects the accident frequency rate is less than the UK on most Projects. 400 people killed on 2022 Projects - absolute rubbish most of them haven't even started yet. I doubt the total upon completion would even be half that, and comparable to the UK death rate within contruction during the same time period (average of 70/year). They are also trying to gradually change the law to protect workers rights regarding passports etc. I have lived here for over two and a half years and believed the British Media and was very sceptical before I moved here but can say that although there are problems that are being worked on - it is no way near the portrayal made up to sell newspapers, influence public opinion, create scandal, push for FIFA revotes or whatever the reasons behind it.
Optimistic as ever |
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