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World Cup 2022: How has Qatar treated stadium workers? World Cup 2022: How has Qatar treated foreign workers?
(about 1 month later)
The 2022 Fifa World Cup, due to start on 21 November in Qatar, will be the first one ever to be held in the Middle East. Qatar has deported several foreign labourers who protested about unpaid wages.
It has also become most controversial World Cup ever, with questions about the way the rich Gulf state won the right to hold it, how it has been treating workers building the stadiums, and whether it will be welcoming to LGBT fans. The country is hosting the football World Cup finals this winter, and has employed thousands of foreign workers to build new hotels and facilities.
Treatment of foreign workers Human rights groups have repeatedly complained about the bad treatment of foreign labourers in Qatar, and the number who have died there.
Qatar is building seven stadiums for the finals, a new airport, new metro and new roads. How many foreign workers are working on World Cup projects?
The final will be played in a stadium, which is also staging nine other matches, that is the centrepiece of a new city. Qatar is building seven stadiums for the World Cup finals, a new airport, a new metro system, a series of new roads and about 100 new hotels.
But the state has attracted criticism for its treatment of the 30,000 migrant labourers working on the projects. An entire new city is being built around the stadium which will host the final match.
In 2016, human rights group Amnesty International accused Qatar of using forced labour. It said many workers were living in squalid accommodation, paying huge recruitment fees and had had wages withheld and passports confiscated. Qatar's government says that 30,000 foreign labourers have been hired just to build the stadiums. Most come from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and the Philippines.
Recently, 60 labourers demonstrated outside the headquarters of the Al Bandary International Group in the capital, Doha, complaining about unpaid wages.
Some workers said they hadn't been paid for seven weeks.
Footage of the protest was shared online
Al Bandary is building dozens of new hotels, malls and residences in Qatar.
A number of protesters were detained and some were deported, although it's not known how many.
The government said those who were deported had "breached security laws".
It added that it was already investigating the company for the late payment of wages.
When is the World Cup and why was Qatar chosen?
LGBTIQ+ 'issues remain' before Qatar World Cup
How are foreign workers treated?
Ever since Qatar won the rights to host the World Cup, in 2010, human rights groups have criticised its treatment of foreign workers.
In 2016, Amnesty International accused Qatari companies of using forced labour.
It said many workers were living in squalid accommodation, were forced to pay huge recruitment fees and had had wages withheld and their passports confiscated.
Qatar's government has promised to improve conditions in its labour campsQatar's government has promised to improve conditions in its labour camps
Since 2017, the government has introduced measures to protect migrant labourers from working in excessive heat, limit their working hours and improve conditions in workers' camps. Since 2017, the government has introduced measures to protect foreign labourers from working in very hot weather, limit their working hours, and improve conditions in workers' camps.
However, campaign group Human Rights Watch said in a 2021 report that foreign workers were still suffering from "punitive and illegal wage deductions", as well as "months of unpaid wages for long hours of gruelling work". However, in a 2021 report, campaign group Human Rights Watch said that foreign workers were still suffering from "punitive and illegal wage deductions", and faced "months of unpaid wages for long hours of gruelling work".
Amnesty International also says that despite the abolition of the "kafala" - or sponsorship - system, which barred migrant workers from leaving their jobs without their employer's consent, pressure was still being put on employees. Qatari companies used to operate a system called "kafala", under which they sponsored foreign workers to come to the country but then prevented them from leaving their jobs.
A government spokesperson told the BBC: "Significant progress to ensure the reforms are effectively enforced has been made." It said the number of rule-breaking companies "will continue to decline as enforcement measures take hold". Under pressure from groups such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Qatar's government abolished "kafala", but Amnesty International says companies still put pressure on labourers to stop them switching employers.
How many workers have died? It argues this effectively means forced labour still exists in Qatar.
How many foreign workers have died in Qatar?
In February 2021, the Guardian said 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had died in Qatar since it won its World Cup bid.In February 2021, the Guardian said 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had died in Qatar since it won its World Cup bid.
The deaths, which were reported by authorities in the five Asian countries, were not categorised by occupation or place or work. But the labour rights group FairSquare said it was likely that many of those who died had been working on World Cup infrastructure projects. The number is based on figures provided by the countries' embassies in Qatar.
Qatar's government says the figures are an overestimate, because they include thousands of foreigners who died after living and working there for many years. It says many would have been working in jobs unrelated to the building industry. However, the Qatar government said the total was misleading, because not all the deaths recorded were of people working on World Cup-related projects.
Qatar says that between 2014 and 2020, there were 37 deaths among labourers building World Cup stadiums. It says 34 of those were "non-work related". Many of those who died, it said, had been living and working in Qatar for several years, and could have died from old age or another natural cause.
The government said its accident records showed that between 2014 and 2020, there were 37 deaths among labourers at World Cup stadium construction sites, only three of which were "work-related".
However, the ILO believes this is an underestimate, because Qatar doesn't count deaths from heart attacks and respiratory failure as work-related - even though these are common symptoms of heatstroke, brought on from doing heavy labour in very high temperatures.
It has compiled its own figures from government-run hospitals and ambulance services in Qatar, covering work-related deaths and accidents for World Cup projects.
It says 50 foreign labourers died and more than 500 others were seriously injured in Qatar in 2021 alone, and another 37,600 suffered mild to moderate injuries.
BBC Arabic has also gathered evidence which suggests Qatar's government has under-reported deaths amongst foreign labourers.
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Qatar's Hassan Al-Thawadi: Criticism of world cup is "ill informed" Life at 50C: Qatar accused of under-reporting deaths in Gulf's killer heat
Qatar's Hassan Al-Thawadi: Criticism of world cup is "ill informed" Life at 50C: Qatar accused of under-reporting deaths in Gulf's killer heat
The International Labour Organization (ILO) says Qatar has not counted sudden and unexpected deaths amongst labourers. It says these include fatal heart attacks and respiratory failure caused by heatstroke recorded as being from"natural causes" rather than "work-related". What does Qatar's government say about foreign workers' rights?
The ILO has compiled its own death figures from government-run hospitals and ambulance services in Qatar, covering casualties from all projects connected with the World Cup. Working in conjunction with the ILO, the Qatari government has recently introduced a number of reforms to labour laws.
It says 50 workers died and more than 500 others were seriously injured in Qatar in 2021 alone, and another 37,600 suffered mild to moderate injuries. These include a wage protection scheme designed to ensure employers pay their staff on time.
The main causes of these deaths and injuries were falling from heights, road traffic accidents and falling objects. A government spokesperson told the BBC its reforms are improving the working conditions of most foreign labourers in Qatar.
Is Qatar safe for LGBT people? "Significant progress to ensure the reforms are effectively enforced has been made," said the spokesperson.
Qatar is a conservative Muslim country and same-sex relationships are illegal. "The number of rule-breaking companies will continue to decline as enforcement measures take hold."
Football's world governing body, Fifa, and Qatar's organising committee have been asked by groups supporting LGBT rights to make changes before the tournament starts.
Qatar has spent billions on hosting the World Cup
These include providing safety guarantees, ensuring a right of entry to Qatar, and not censoring the discussion of LGBT issues.
Qatar World Cup organisers have previously said everyone is welcome, but "public displays of affection in general, for homosexuals and non-homosexuals, are not part of our tradition".
How did Qatar come to host the World Cup?
Qatar 2022 has been controversial from the very moment it was announced by Fifa, in 2010.
As a very small (if very rich) state with little footballing history, and no record of ever qualifying for the World Cup, it was a shock to many when Qatar beat competition from the US, Australia, South Korea and Japan.
The decision prompted allegations that Fifa officials had been bribed to award the World Cup to Qatar, although an independent investigation commissioned by Fifa later found no hard evidence of this.
Qatar denies allegations that it bought delegates' votes, but a corruption investigation by the French authorities is still ongoing, and in 2020 the US accused three Fifa officials of receiving payments.
2010: Fifa boss Sepp Blatter announces that Qatar has won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup
Why is the Qatar World Cup happening in winter?
The World Cup tournament is usually held in June and July, but in Qatar average temperatures at that time of year are about 41C (106F) and can reach 50C (122F) - too hot to be outside safely, let alone play at least 90 minutes of football.
During the bidding process, Qatar promised advanced air-conditioning technology that would cool stadiums, training pitches and fan zones to 23C. However, in 2015 a decision was made by Fifa to hold the tournament in winter.
The World Cup kicks off on 21 November, and the final is on 18 December. This means it falls right in the middle of - and disrupts - the club football season for many countries.
The English Premier League, for instance, will not see any matches played between 13 November and 26 December.
To make up for the lost time, the 2022/2023 season will start a week earlier than normal and end a week later.