Download the full report - Human Rights Watch

translations into other languages,” it “does not require translation into a language that
would allow the worker to understand its content…” 128 Ashok P., a Sri Lankan construction
worker, told Human Rights Watch, “the agreement is [written] in the English language.
[Workers from] Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lankans can’t understand English; they don’t read
English. The company doesn’t care about [their needs].” 129
Many workers who signed new contracts upon arrival in Qatar appeared to have done so
under coercive circumstances. Employers provided contracts in Arabic and English, they
said, though many migrant construction workers either cannot read, or do not read these
languages. Some workers said that employers forced them to sign contracts on the spot,
sometimes at odd hours, without explaining their contents. Bhanu K., a 22-year-old
migrant from Nepal, said that a recruitment agent in Kathmandu misled him about the
terms of his contract in his country, telling him he would be a “civil foreman” and that he
would make 1,200 riyals (US$329) as a starting salary. 130 When he arrived, he had no
chance to review his new contract because his employers told him to sign at midnight, and
did not give him time to read it. 131 In Qatar, he worked as a construction laborer, and made
only 750 (US$206) riyals per month. 132 Raju S., a 20-year-old Nepali worker, said that prior
to his arrival he signed a contract to work as an “office boy” for 1,200 riyals (US$329) per
month, but after he arrived in Qatar his employers gave him another contract, which said
he would work as a carpenter for 600 riyals (US$165) each month. 133 Sudeep G., from Nepal,
said that while he signed an employment contract in Nepal, he realized it was a “fake
contract for a fake company” when he arrived in Qatar. He said he had no choice but to
sign the new contract his employer gave him. 134 Contracts workers sign in their home
countries are not valid or legally enforceable in Qatar unless they have been approved and
filed with Qatar’s Labor Ministry.
Some workers said their employers simply signed their contracts for them. Ashok P., a 40-
year-old worker from Sri Lanka, said that he did not sign a contract before leaving Sri Lanka.
Though he saw a work contract in Qatar, he said, “my company signed it for me.” 135
128 Law No.14 of 2004, art.9.
129 Human Rights Watch interview with Ashok P., al-Khor, Qatar, June 24, 2011.
130 Human Rights Watch interview with Bhanu K., labor camp near al-Khor, June 17, 2011.
131 Ibid.
132 Ibid.
133 Human Rights Watch interview with Raju S., Doha Industrial Area, June 20, 2011.
134 Human Rights Watch interview with Sudeep G., labor camp near al-Khor, June 24, 2011.
135 Human Rights Watch interview with Ashok P., labor camp near al-Khor, June 24, 2011.
59 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | JUNE 2012