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Between the Euros and the Olympics, it’s been a great summer for any fans of international soccer. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic still affecting the world at large, most fans did not have the chance to see any of these games in-person. The Tokyo Olympics, in particular, did not allow any spectators into their stadiums at all. As such, many soccer fans are eagerly waiting for the next big tournament to see their country’s team perform up close. However, if you are one of those fans planning to make the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar your next destination, you should know about the controversies surrounding the event.
Since Qatar won the bid in 2010 to host the 2022 World Cup, the country has been heavily criticized for its treatment of migrant workers.
Over 90% of the World Cup’s workforce are migrant workers hailing from countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, and India. Many come to Qatar in hopes of better providing for their families back home. Unfortunately, most of these hopes aren’t realized. Migrant workers first have to pay exorbitant fees to “recruitment agents” to be brought into the country, leaving them in significant debt upon arrival. These same agents lure in workers by misrepresenting the salaries they will receive. Once they get to Qatar, they have no choice but to accept the salary that is offered to them, as their newly accumulated debt dissuades them from leaving empty-handed. However, this salary isn’t even guaranteed to be paid on time; many workers claim that they have had their payments delayed for months. After working long hours in the Qatari climate, these workers might just be rewarded with nothing at all, leaving their families back home hungry and impoverished.
In addition to the migrants’ desperate financial condition, they must also toil under terrible working conditions. The rooms that are given to them are cramped and unsanitary. These workers are expected to clean their own rooms and the shared facilities everyday, which very few have the energy to do after working in the intense Qatari heat. Many of these workers are also kept prisoner in filthy labour camps as they have their passports stripped away from them by their employers. Instead, they are given worker’s residence permits, which are often not renewed on time. With no passport and an expired resident permit, these workers run the risk of being imprisoned if they are found outside of their designated workplace. If they want to leave the country, they will have to apply for an exit permit, a request that is often ignored. All of these factors have culminated in over 6,500 migrant workers dying since the beginning of the World Cup preparations, according to The Guardian.
In response to these concerns, the Qatari government has implemented a few policies to protect their workers’ rights. They have introduced a minimum wage of $275 per month that applies to both domestic and migrant workers. They’ve also launched an initiative to help contractors reimburse the recruitment fees that workers pay to come to Qatar, no proof of payment required. The requirement of an exit permit for workers to leave the country has also been abolished, which means workers are now able to leave the country without their employer’s permission.
However, these changes still aren’t perfect. This newly established minimum wage is still 11 times lower than the average income for Qatari households. Employers are still able to abuse loopholes such as “absconding charges,” which are supposed to be used against employees who do not come to work. This can lead to the arrest or deportation of migrant workers seeking other work in Qatar.
Despite their flaws, these changes will still be beneficial for future migrant workers in Qatar. However, they may have come one decade too late for those who have worked on preparations for the World Cup.
Published November 22, 2021
Written by Alex Truong ~ Edited by Anvita Chitrapu ~ Graphics created by Elwin Fu
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