A few days before the kick-off of the football World Cup, the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) invited the Qatari Minister of Labour, Ali Bin Samikh Al Marri, to discuss the situation of migrant workers and the respect of human rights. While some applauded the progress made, others stressed that the country still has a long way to go.
Reforms...
MEPs were concerned about reports from human rights organisations of workers dying on World Cup construction sites, discriminatory pay and lack of compensation for work-related accidents.
As the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Qatar collaborate on a labour reform programme since 2018, Max Tuñon, head of the ILO office in Doha, supported the progress made. In addition to the introduction of a minimum wage for foreign workers, he highlighted the introduction of a law limiting outdoor work to reduce “heat stress” as well as the possibility for a foreign workers’ representative to participate in social dialogue within his company. “It is a first for the Gulf region”, he said. He also welcomed the end of the “kafala” system, a guardianship system that forced a foreign worker to depend on a sponsor.
...are insufficient?
But for Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch, “these reforms have been limited in their impact due to their late introduction, narrow scope or gaps in implementation”. She denounced “continuing wage abuses”, “illegal recruitment fees” as well as deaths that are “uninvestigated and uncompensated to families”.
“No one will say that enacting law is sufficient - you need to change the environment and the mindset, and we are continuing such effort”, Mr Al Marri defended.
He also assured that the reforms would continue after the World Cup. “The World Cup has sped up the reforms, but they are part of the Qatari vision for 2030”, he said, also promising to establish an “annual Doha dialogue” to discuss the situation of foreign workers.
Mixed opinions
On the MEPs’ side, there were two conflicting views. Some have called the tournament the “World Cup of Shame”and have claimed that FIFA is responsible for Qatar’s selection. Others, notably from the S&D group, said that positive changes should be encouraged. “The culture of democracy is different in the Middle East. If you want to force a change, you have to go gradually”, argued Joel Odigie, Coordinator at the African Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation. (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)