A new report from Amnesty International, published this Thursday, reveals that progress made towards better respect for workers’ rights has remained at a standstill since the end of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while hundreds of thousands of them still have no hope of obtaining justice and reparation.
“Qatar’s continued failure to properly implement or strengthen its pre-World Cup labor law reforms seriously jeopardizes any potential progress for migrant workers,” said Steve Cockburn, Director of the Economic Justice Program. and Social Security of Amnesty International. The government must urgently renew its commitment to protecting them, while Fifa and Qatar must agree reparations programs for all those who have suffered. »
“From illegal recruitment fees to unpaid wages, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers have lost their money, their health and sometimes their lives, but FIFA and Qatar have attempted to deflect and deny responsibility,” the report said. To date, a year after the tournament, too little has been done to repair all this damage. The workers who made the 2022 World Cup (November 20-December 18) possible must not be forgotten. »
“Employers still exert control over workers”
“The human rights abuses linked to the 2022 World Cup should serve as a reminder to sports organizations that human rights must always be at the heart of decisions when events are awarded to countries,” adds Cockburn.
Those interviewed on site by Amnesty International painted a bleak picture of slowing progress and continued exploitation. Workers are supposed to be able to freely change jobs to escape human rights abuses or seek better working conditions, but although they are no longer required to obtain a “certificate of no objection” from their employer, many still have to ask permission in practice.
Government statistics also show that while more than 150,000 people changed jobs in the first eight months of the year, authorities rejected a third of applications. It still happens that some employers cancel the residence permit of workers who have filed a complaint or asked to change jobs, or wrongly accuse them of having “abandoned” their position, which exposes them to arrest. or expulsion. A foreign embassy representative in Doha told Amnesty International that “employers still have control over workers.”
Fifa made a record $7.5 billion in revenue from the Qatar World Cup, but details of the Legacy Fund it promised remain vague. In March 2023, it announced the launch of a study into the steps it needs to take to ensure reparations in line with its human rights policy. The results of this study should be made public soon.
“Fifa must learn from its mistakes”
As Amnesty International previously revealed, hundreds of migrant workers employed as guards and security guards at various venues on short-term contracts were victims of exploitation during the tournament.
“I had to take out a loan to pay for travel expenses to work in Qatar during the World Cup,” Marcus, a 33-year-old Ghanaian who paid nearly $400 in travel expenses, told Amnesty International. recruitment. I’m still paying it back, what I earned wasn’t enough. »
“Qatar should not imagine that, with the tournament over, its actions will spiral out of control,” Cockburn warns. On the contrary, it must redouble its efforts to improve workers’ rights. As for FIFA, in order to prevent a repeat of the human rights abuses associated with the Qatar World Cup, it must learn from its mistakes, prepare to take its human rights responsibilities seriously and directly repair the harm to which its failings have given rise or contributed. »
