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conditions that did not meet Qatar’s minimum housing standards, which require employers to house only four workers per room and to refrain from using bunk beds (double beds) in worker accommodations. Workers interviewed for our report slept in bunk beds (double beds) with up to 25 other workers in the same room. The majority of workers interviewed said that their employers had not provided them with government-issued health cards that would allow them access to public hospitals and clinics for a nominal fee. While some workers said that some employers provided on-site care or would reimburse them for medical bills, others said that they had to pay their own medical expenses and some chose not to seek treatment because of the expense involved. In the worst cases we found, workers were subjected to forced labor, or situations analogous to forced labor, in which employers told workers they could not quit jobs that they had not agreed to perform and leave the country unless they paid their employer large sums of money. Work extracted under menace of penalty and for which a person has not offered himself voluntarily is forced labor and banned under international law. Workers’ pressing need to pay off their recruitment loans combined with Qatar’s sponsorship restrictions kept them in jobs to which they had not agreed, or where employers abused their rights. While the sponsorship law says that workers can transfer sponsorship when they have suits pending against their employer, or with permission from the Ministry of Labor (granted at officials’ discretion), both workers and those who tried to help workers in distress said that migrant workers had very slim chances of transferring sponsorship without their original sponsor’s consent. Legal provisions allowing sponsorship transfer thus offered workers little protection in practice. Employers exercised additional control over workers by confiscating their passports and through the exit visa system. Qatar’s sponsorship law prohibits employers from holding workers’ passports after they complete the procedures required to finalize their work visas. However, nearly all the workers interviewed for this report said that their employers held their passports, and that they could only retrieve them with their employer’s consent. In addition, under Qatar’s sponsorship law, workers who wish to leave the country must secure an exit permit from their sponsoring employer. Denial or delay of exit visas proved another method employers used to control workers. Both passport confiscation and denial of free movement, including permission to exit the country, constitute forms of coercion that contribute to forced labor. Workers we interviewed who lodged labor complaints said they faced immediate termination of their employment and eviction from their accommodation. Thus workers who lodged complaints had to be prepared to give up their jobs, and forgo employment for months while seeking resolution. Workers faced severe obstacles to pursuing court cases, given the time it would take to pursue claims and their inability to legally work during that time. 101 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | JUNE 2012
Request for Information Human Rights Watch requests information regarding Qatari government policy as well as government data, on the following matters: Worker Recruitment: • What steps has the Qatari government taken to protect workers from paying exorbitant recruitment fees that leave them vulnerable to conditions of forced labor and human trafficking? Does any law or regulation require employers to take full responsibility for paying workers’ recruitment fees? Does any law or regulation ban employers from working with recruiting agencies abroad that charge workers recruitment fees? • What steps has your government taken to ensure that workers receive accurate and reliable information in a language that they understand prior to their migration to Qatar, in order to prevent situations of human trafficking? Do you require workers to sign contracts in local languages before departure from their home countries, and to have that contract verified by Qatari and sending-country officials? Labor inspections: During our meeting of June 22, 2011, you stated that the Ministry of Labor employers 150 labor inspectors to monitor companies’ compliance with the labor law, including with regards to the conditions of Qatar’s 1.2 million migrant workers. • How many companies have these inspectors inspected in the past three years? Are the findings of their inspections made public and if so, can you provide data on their findings for the past three years? How many infractions were cited? How many companies were referred for prosecution? • Does the Ministry of Labor have plans to increase the number of inspectors? Has the Ministry considered incorporating worker interviews into inspections? • What steps do labor inspectors take when they discover violations? In particular,? What steps do inspectors take in case of housing violations, particularly when accommodations are unsafe or unfit for habitation? What follow-up actions do inspectors take for companies that violate the labor law or regulations? • How do inspectors determine what companies to investigate? If workers report complaints to the Labor Complaints Department, does the ministry investigate to ensure that other employees of the same company do not face similar problems? BUILDING A BETTER WORLD CUP 102
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H U M A N R I G H T S W A T C H Bui
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Copyright © 2012 Human Rights Watc
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To Construction, Labor-Supply, and
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Based on interviews with 73 migrant
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employers to ensure potable water,
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whether they forfeit their rights i
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Necessary Steps Qatar’s Governmen
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secretary-general of FIFA, stated t
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ather than directly by the companie
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(above) Massive construction projec
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(above) A migrant construction work
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Hallway lights illuminate a worker
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20 Building a better world cup
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This Bangladeshi migrant worker tol
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Migrant workers housed in Doha’s
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26 Building a better world cup
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Methodology Human Rights Watch cond
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I. Background Qatar, a Gulf country
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Meanwhile, migrant workers’ labor
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labor is temporary. Once their job
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“mandatory contract language and
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of 2004 set a maximum prison term o
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However, the lack of official compl
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Even on its face, the Labor Law lac
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The Sponsorship Law requires reside
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Qatar has not ratified conventions
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if they occur. 90 Former UN Special
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Page 59 and 60: written agreements into real, effec
Page 61 and 62: offered himself voluntarily.” 114
Page 63 and 64: after their arrival), or penalizes
Page 65 and 66: The New Doha International Airport
Page 67 and 68: disciplinary purposes, and up to 50
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Page 73 and 74: of 191 Nepali workers from all caus
Page 75 and 76: matters that the foreigner has to r
Page 77 and 78: Aspire Zone The Aspire Zone is the
Page 79 and 80: [an] emergency exit [from the count
Page 81 and 82: While their response also states th
Page 83 and 84: Qatar’s labor ministry has taken
Page 85 and 86: Without available translators or in
Page 87 and 88: would terminate the employment rela
Page 89 and 90: Qatar’s Sponsorship Law states th
Page 91 and 92: etween January 2009 and September 2
Page 93 and 94: notarized undertakings in workers
Page 95 and 96: • Ensure that courts reviewing la
Page 97 and 98: • Finance a public awareness camp
Page 99 and 100: Acknowledgements This report was re
Page 101 and 102: Qatar from charging workers fees, b
Page 103 and 104: interviewed for this report said th
Page 105: Qatar, local employers and recruitm
Page 109 and 110: Sponsorship-related problems: • A
Page 111 and 112: The administration has received no
Page 113 and 114: Regarding healthcare, it is well kn
Page 115 and 116: Qatari laws do not permit charging
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Page 119 and 120: 4. Asks the employer or his represe
Page 121 and 122: Regarding training, Article 99 of t
Page 123 and 124: Regarding the second question, on t
Page 125 and 126: HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 350 Fifth Avenue
Page 127 and 128: process of writing to relevant comp
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Page 131 and 132: BUILDING A BETTER WORLD CUP 126
Page 133 and 134: World Cup. We have enclosed a summa
Page 135 and 136: deception and the disparity between
Page 137 and 138: CH2M HILL Response to Human Rights
Page 139 and 140: HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 350 Fifth Avenue
Page 141 and 142: We would like to take this opportun
Page 143 and 144: Aspire Logistics Response to Human
Page 147 and 148: construction industry as a whole an
Page 149 and 150: • show that you have taken all po
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