Download the full report - Human Rights Watch

Qatar for three years, and that his construction company employed more than 5000
workers. “Three months [after I arrived], I got my first salary,” he said. 148 Bhanu K., a Nepali
worker, told Human Rights Watch that his company took two-months’ salary as a
“balance,” or deposit that they would pay when he returned to Nepal. 149 Workers who do
not receive their salary from the beginning of their employment must borrow money from
friends or purchase items on credit in order to pay for food and other living expenses. Their
recruitment debts mount as they cannot make payments and additional interest accrues,
while their families go without vital support.
Other workers said their employers deducted wages to pay costs including visa fees, food,
and medical insurance. Abdul M., a worker from Bangladesh who did road and
construction work around Qatar, said that his company deducted 120 riyals (US$33) each
month, 17 percent of his salary of 700 riyals (US$192), to pay for food. 150 Ajit T., who
worked as an electrician, said that his company deducted 200 riyals (US$54) from his
salary to pay for things like bedding, plates, and soap. 151 Rishi S., a Nepali construction
worker who told Human Rights Watch that he was employed by a manpower company and
working on the new Doha airport, said that his company deducted 100 riyals (US$27)
yearly to pay for his health insurance card. 152
Unlike the United Arab Emirates, which implemented the electronic Wages Payment
System in 2009, Qatar does not require employers to pay workers electronically. Nearly all
of the workers interviewed by Human Rights Watch received payments in cash, rather than
through bank accounts, making it significantly more difficult to monitor whether employers
paid wages as required by law. A letter from officials at the Ministry of Labor to Human
Rights Watch, sent November 1, 2011, states that “Currently, the Ministry is working to
eliminate the non-payment of wages in coordination with employers and the country’s
banks, via the payment of wages through banks. This idea has been well received by
companies and institutions that employ a large labor force, and as this experiment is
universalized, complaints of late or non-payment of wages will decrease.”
148 Human Rights Watch interview with Abdul M., Doha Industrial Area, May 26, 2011.
149 Human Rights Watch interview with Bhanu K., labor camp near al-Khor, June 17, 2011.
150 Human Rights Watch interview with Abdul M., Doha Industrial Area, May 26, 2011.
151 Human Rights Watch interview with Ajit M., Doha Industrial Area, May 26, 2011.
152 Human Rights Watch interview with Rishi S., labor camp near al-Khor, June 17, 2011.
BUILDING A BETTER WORLD CUP 64