As the men’s World Cup opens in Qatar under the shadow of criticism from human rights groups over the treatment of vulnerable workers, the International Labour Organization (ILO) says it nevertheless has seen significant progress in the country.
The head of the Qatar office of the United-Nations-funded organization spoke to CTV National News Chief News Anchor and Senior Editor Omar Sachedina about the questions and concerns surrounding the migrant workers who have allegedly faced labour violations and poor working conditions while building Qatar’s stadiums for the World Cup.
Max Tunon told CTV National News that while there are still frustrating disparities in wages for workers and issues in securing justice and compensation for those who have been harmed, the government is committed to moving “in a positive direction.â€
He added that an investigation by The Guardian published in 2021 that found 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had died in Qatar in the decade since it won the right to host the World Cup needs more “context.â€
“It doesn’t distinguish between whether (the 6,500) are work-related deaths or non-work-related deaths,†he said.
Tunon said that according to the Supreme Committee for the World Cup, there have been three deaths on site and 37 deaths off site in Qatar in connection with the construction of the stadiums.
Human rights organizations have been raising alarms about alleged labour violations and poor working conditions since construction began.
A subsidiary of French construction company Vinci has also been issued preliminary charges alleging forced labour and other violations of the rights of migrant workers hired to build infrastructure for the World Cup in Qatar.
Below is a partial transcript of the interview with Sachedina. The transcript has been edited for clarity:
Max Tunon: According to the Supreme Committee, there have been three deaths on site and 37 deaths off site. I think one of the misconceptions that exists around Qatar is that everybody in the country is working on the construction of World Cup stadiums or World Cup facilities. At the peak, the supreme committee organizing the World Cup had 32,000 workers on site. But I would that the main challenges exists with smaller contractors, subcontractors and not the stadiums themselves.
Omar Sachedina: You’ve said that that’s a misleading figure — 6,500 people dying in construction projects. Why is it misleading?
Tunon: 6,500 is the total number of South Asian nationals who have died in Qatar over a 10-year-period. It doesn't distinguish between whether these are work-related deaths or non-work-related deaths. In fact, some of these may include people who are not even economically active.
Sachedina: It is a very energy rich country, on a per capita basis has a lot of money — why can't it just do the right thing and pay workers and pay their families what they deserve?
Tunon: There are no quick fixes. These are deeply entrenched practices. It takes time to build up new institutions, it takes time to change business practices, to change mindsets. And so addressing those is going to be an ongoing effort. The fact that we are dismantling the Kafala system that has been in place for decades, bringing in new forms of worker representation, worker’s voices, is something that doesn't exist in other parts of the region.
Sachedina: There are huge wage disparities still. Is there a part of you that shares some frustration?
Tunon: Absolutely. I mean, We receive cases on a daily basis from workers. Of course, it's very frustrating to hear when companies are not paying their workers on time, or when workers face challenges in accessing justice, it’s extremely frustrating. When it comes to wages and wage protection, yes, there are challenges there. But we can see now that workers can access justice, through complaints mechanisms, through labour courts, through a fund, all of these are brand new institutions.
We’re impatient to make sure that they can work faster, but at the same time, we recognize that it is a process. Most importantly, it requires a commitment from the government just to move in a positive direction and that's what we've seen in recent years.
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