For example, a proposed requirement that wages must be paid into a designated bank account will not cover labourers paid in cash. Even if reforms Qatar has promised are implemented, employers will still have considerable power over workers.
Even though in May 2014 Qatar promised reforms to help protect migrant labourers, one year later, little progress has been made. But the 2022 FIFA World Cup is acting as a catalyst for improvements in this regard". We are aware this cannot be done overnight. The Qatar 2022 Committee said: "Our commitment is to change working conditions in order to ensure a lasting legacy of improved worker welfare. Īfter visiting a labour camp, Sharan Burrows of the ITUC described the workers as "basically slaves" and added that "If two years on the Government has not done the fundamentals, they have no commitment to human rights". In November 2013, Amnesty International reported "serious exploitation", including workers having to sign false statements that they had received their wages in order to regain their passports. Workers may not change jobs or even leave the country without their sponsor's permission. Human Rights Watch and the International Trade Union Confederation allege that the Kafala system leaves migrant workers vulnerable to systematic abuse. One of the most touched-on issues of the Qatar World Cup was the treatment of workers hired to build the infrastructure.
See also: Human rights in Qatar Migrant workers, slavery allegations and deaths