The Workers’ Welfare Standards states that all contractors and sub-contractors engaged in the delivery of its projects must comply with principles set out in the charter and relevant Qatari laws
Agencies/Doha
|
|
Qatar yesterday issued a set of guidelines aimed at protecting the rights of thousands of expatriate workers employed on construction projects, as the country prepares to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy released the Workers’ Welfare Standards which require “contractors to set up bank accounts for their workers, which will help facilitate payment, creating an auditable transaction system that will help the Supreme Committee verify that all workers are being paid in full and on time”.
The standards laid down specifications for workers’ accommodation, “setting clear guidelines for everything from the number of beds per room to a minimum standard for cleanliness and hygiene”. Companies violating these guidelines will be penalised, the statement said.
“We have always believed that Qatar’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup would be a catalyst to accelerate positive initiatives already being undertaken by Qatar, which will leave a legacy of enhanced, sustainable and meaningful progress in regards to worker welfare across the country,” said Hassan al-Thawadi, secretary general, Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy.
“We already see this progress taking place across Qatar on a daily basis, and will continue to work hard to make our vision become the ever-present reality on the ground.”
The Supreme Committee will require contractors and sub-contractors, to ensure “world-class” health and safety for workers, equality in their treatment, and protect their dignity.
The Supreme Committee said it had “engaged” the International Labour Organisation (ILO) “to look at the entire process from recruitment to living and working conditions upon arrival, and made sure to incorporate all of this into its planning ahead of any major stadium construction work”.
FIFA had said the Qatari committee’s report would be used to prepare a hearing tomorrow at the European Parliament on the conditions of migrant workers.
Dr Theo Zwanziger, former president of the German Football Federation, will attend the hearing as the FIFA representative mandated to deal with the matter.
After the session at the European Parliament, another detailed report will be delivered to the FIFA Executive Committee on March 20 and 21.
The Workers’ Welfare Standards states that all contractors and sub-contractors engaged in the delivery of its projects must comply with principles set out in the charter and relevant Qatari laws.
The Supreme Committee said the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MOLSA) had increased the number of trained labour inspectors by 30%. Furthermore, the Ministry has conducted 11,500 spot checks in the past three months. A total of 306 companies have been classified and their performance will be published to workers and owners, setting an example for best practice in the country.
Representatives from some of the largest infrastructure projects in Qatar, including the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy and Qatar Foundation, plan to meet in the coming months to discuss adopting a unified standard, in line with the government’s vision for improved social development as part of Qatar National Vision 2030.
“We will continue to work closely with our partners to achieve practical solutions which will leave a sustainable legacy for Qatar long after 2022,” said Farah al-Muftah, Chairwoman of the Supreme Committee’s Workers’ Welfare Committee.
The Supreme Committee’s standards address some of the most critical concerns highlighted in recent reports about working and living conditions of workers in Qatar’s construction sector, including:
lPayment of wages: the Standards require contractors to set up bank accounts for their workers, which will help facilitate payment, creating an auditable transaction system that will help the Supreme Committee verify that all workers are being paid in full and on time.
lAccommodations: Comprehensive specifications for worker accommodations, setting clear guidelines for everything from the number of beds per room to a minimum standard for cleanliness and hygiene.
lEnforcement: a four-tier audit system, implemented with the support of independent third-party auditors. Progress reports based on the audits are to be made public in order to track progress and share lessons learnt with government stakeholders and the international community.
While the Supreme Committee reserves the right to penalise contractors who are non-compliant with its mandatory Workers’ Welfare Standards, or, in extreme cases, terminate its contract with a company that is continually in breach of them, focus is being placed on working with contractors to improve standards on a continuous basis.
For situations in which contractors do not demonstrate improvement, there are legal mechanisms in all Supreme Committee contracts which allow the committee to step in and fix the problem at the contractors’ expense. The Supreme Committee is required to report such incidents to MOLSA and the Central Tenders Committee, jeopardising the contractor’s ability to undertake future projects in Qatar.
On January 13, the Supreme Committee’s Workers’ Welfare Committee conducted its first successful inspection of workers’ accommodation for the early works contractor for Al Wakrah Stadium. This accommodation currently houses 38 workers, representing the total number of workers currently engaged on Supreme Committee construction projects.
Amnesty hails ‘welcome step’
Amnesty International has hailed the Qatar 2022 workers’ welfare standards announced yesterday, calling the measure a welcome step that will help ensure expatriate workers rights in the country.
James Lynch, Amnesty International’s researcher on migrants’ rights in the Gulf, said the standards represented a positive effort to prevent abuses from taking place on World Cup projects.
“While this may be a good starting point, the charter will only address the concerns of a relatively small proportion of migrant workers in Qatar; those involved in the construction of stadiums and training grounds,” he said.
He called for widening the scope of the standards to cover all the migrant workers in Qatar including those who will build the wider infrastructure to support the hosting of the World Cup.
“The reality is that all foreign workers across the country are still subject to the restrictive sponsorship system,” said Lynch.
“There are also serious questions relating to the implementation of these standards. In our experience enforcement is almost always the stumbling block. We need to know how the Supreme Committee will effectively address non-compliance by contractors and subcontractors.”
However, a spokesperson for the International Trade Union Confederation said the measures were not enough to guarantee workers’ welfare and demanded the abolition of the sponsorship system and more reforms.
