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Sandesh P., another Nepali worker, said “I had to pay 1,200 riyals (US$329) to my company for my visa. I paid it within two months, directly from my salary. I [also] paid my own [air] ticket.” 120 Bijay R., 23, told Human Rights Watch that he paid 80,000 Nepali rupees (US$1,045) to get his job as a carpenter on a hotel construction project, but in Qatar his employer deducted 1200 riyals (US$329) from his salary to pay for his visa. 121 Twenty-two workers said they paid fees either directly to their employers or to middlemen in Qatar of between 250 and 3000 Qatari riyals (US$69 to $824). Deception in Recruitment and Coercive Contract Procedures Though workers take on significant debts to fund their employment in Qatar, few of them have accurate or complete information about the jobs that await them, making the migration process a gamble in which workers risk being trapped in jobs that they never agreed to, or receiving salaries far below what they counted upon earning. Of the 73 workers interviewed by Human Rights Watch, only 19 said they had signed contracts in their home countries, and only six said those contracts accurately reflected the job and salary they had in Qatar. Most workers interviewed for this report said that they either did not sign contracts before migrating, or signed one contract before departure and a new contract upon arrival in Qatar. “Employers change the contract; they make [workers] sign a new contract,” said N.L, an expatriate resident who teaches migrant workers in Qatar about their rights. “A lot of workers come here for one job, then [employers] make them do another job.” 122 Workers who took on large debts in their home countries and committed to paying high interest rates on loans found that agents had lied or misled them about the salaries they would earn, or even the jobs they would have, in Qatar. Some workers said that they received as little as half the wages they had been promised before migrating, or found themselves with little choice but to accept jobs they would not have agreed to had they known the truth. A pamphlet detailing workers’ rights, published by the Ministry of Labor, states that “prior to arrival to the State of Qatar the employee must obtain a written work contract signed by him and the employer with whom he will work.” 123 However, no law or regulation requires employers to obtain signed contracts from workers before they come to Qatar (rather than 120 Human Rights Watch interview with Sandesh P., Doha Industrial Area, May 27, 2011. 121 Human Rights Watch interview with Bijay R., Doha Industrial Area, June 16, 2011. 122 Human Rights Watch interview with N.L., Villagio Mall, May 26, 2011. 123 Manual of Expatriate Employees in the State of Qatar, Ministry of Labor, p.11. On file with Human Rights Watch. 57 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | JUNE 2012
after their arrival), or penalizes the practice of contract substitution. A letter from Ministry of Labor officials to Human Rights Watch states that labor agreements signed with laborsending countries: “… specif[y] two types of contracts. The first are those contracts concluded inside Qatar, which require the approval of the Qatari Ministry of Labor and the Doha embassy of the labor-exporting country. The other type is that concluded in the exporting country. This must be approved by the Ministry of Labor in the exporting country and the Qatari embassy in the country.” 124 In practice, nearly all workers interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that they had signed contracts after arrival in Qatar, and had received their work permits only after doing so. Thus, employers who simply present workers with a contract upon arrival, even if that contract provides inferior terms to the agreement made or contract signed in the worker’s home country, face no penalty for doing so. Qatar’s Labor Law requires employers to provide three copies of workers’ employment contracts, written and attested to by the Department of Labor. 125 Of the three copies, the employer should keep one, provide one to the employee, and deposit one with the Department of Labor. 126 The Labor Ministry has also issued a model employment contract, which ministry officials said that workers should sign before migrating. 127 Officials added that Qatar has signed bilateral agreements with labor-sending countries that call for recruitment agencies abroad to use Qatar’s model employment contract, and to provide the worker with a contract copy. However, these agreements are not publicly available, and employers who violate their terms face no legal penalties, nor can workers invoke these intergovernmental agreements for legal protection in their individual cases. Qatar also fails to require employers to provide employment contracts in a language workers can understand. The Labor Law states that “all contracts and other documents and written instruments provided for in this law shall be in Arabic,” and specifies that while “the employer may accompany such contracts, documents or written instruments with 124 Letter from Qatar Ministry of Labor to Human Rights Watch, November 1, 2011. 125 Law No.14 of 2004, art.38. 126 Ibid. 127 Model Employment Contract, provided to Human Rights Watch by Ministry of Labor officials. On file with Human Rights Watch. BUILDING A BETTER WORLD CUP 58
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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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Page 23 and 24: Hallway lights illuminate a worker
Page 25 and 26: 20 Building a better world cup
Page 27 and 28: This Bangladeshi migrant worker tol
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Page 33 and 34: Methodology Human Rights Watch cond
Page 35 and 36: I. Background Qatar, a Gulf country
Page 37 and 38: Meanwhile, migrant workers’ labor
Page 39 and 40: labor is temporary. Once their job
Page 41 and 42: “mandatory contract language and
Page 43 and 44: of 2004 set a maximum prison term o
Page 45 and 46: However, the lack of official compl
Page 47 and 48: Even on its face, the Labor Law lac
Page 49 and 50: The Sponsorship Law requires reside
Page 51 and 52: Qatar has not ratified conventions
Page 53 and 54: if they occur. 90 Former UN Special
Page 55 and 56: usiness with subcontractors, suppli
Page 57 and 58: or who have learned of job opportun
Page 59 and 60: written agreements into real, effec
Page 61: offered himself voluntarily.” 114
Page 65 and 66: The New Doha International Airport
Page 67 and 68: disciplinary purposes, and up to 50
Page 69 and 70: Qatar for three years, and that his
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Page 81 and 82: While their response also states th
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Page 87 and 88: would terminate the employment rela
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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 and 106: Qatar, local employers and recruitm
Page 107 and 108: Request for Information Human Right
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Regarding healthcare, it is well kn
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Qatari laws do not permit charging
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Qatar, which require the approval o
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4. Asks the employer or his represe
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Regarding training, Article 99 of t
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Regarding the second question, on t
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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 350 Fifth Avenue
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process of writing to relevant comp
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• arrange for independent monitor
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BUILDING A BETTER WORLD CUP 126
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World Cup. We have enclosed a summa
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deception and the disparity between
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CH2M HILL Response to Human Rights
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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 350 Fifth Avenue
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We would like to take this opportun
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Aspire Logistics Response to Human
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construction industry as a whole an
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• show that you have taken all po
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