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Some workers reported that their employers blatantly disregarded risks to their health and safety, demanding dangerous tasks that they had little choice but to perform. Omar J., a worker from Bangladesh, said that he didn’t receive any safety training before beginning his job laying cables and pipeline. 170 “Sometimes the job is very dangerous because we have to go 100 meters, 200 meters inside the pipe [we are working on]. Sometimes we can’t get oxygen. We don’t do this in front of safety inspectors, but as soon as they are gone, the company tells us, ‘go, go!’” 171 Construction workers in Qatar face high risk of heatstroke and dehydration, with temperatures reaching up to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in the summer months. 172 In 2007 Qatar passed a ban on midday work between June 15 and August 15. 173 The decree prohibited outdoor work between the hours of 11:30 and 3, and required employers to provide workers with a shady place to rest. However, Human Rights Watch saw workers at work during these hours on several sites during our June 2011 visit, after the ban went into effect. While some of the workers interviewed for this report said their employers gave them a mid-day break, others said that they continued to work during these hours, even in hot summer months. 174 Problems in the Sponsorship System Migrant construction workers in Qatar are subject to a sponsorship (or kafala) system that gives employers inordinate control over workers in their employ, leaving them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Qatar maintains one of the most restrictive sponsorship systems in the Gulf region. Sponsoring employers have virtually unchecked authority to cancel a worker’s residence visa (leading to detention and deportation), to deny permission to change jobs, or to refuse workers the exit visa required before they can leave the country. In May 2012 Undersecretary of Labor Hussain Al Mulla told local media that “the sponsorship system will be replaced with a contract signed by the two parties,” and that “the contract will stipulate the rights and duties of each party and will impose specific 170 Human Rights Watch interview with Omar J., labor camp near al-Khor, June 24, 2011. 171 Ibid. 172 Habib Toumi, “Qatar Sizzling as Temperatures Soar to 53 Degrees Celsius,” Gulf News, July 14, 2010, available at: http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/07/14/qatar-sizzling-as-temperatures-soar-to-53-degrees-celsius/ (accessed October 11, 2011). 173 Ministerial Decree No.16 of 2007, on file with Human Right Watch. 174 Human Rights Watch interview with Jay T., labor camp near al-Khor, June 24, 2011; Human Rights Watch interview with Chandu R., labor camp near al-Khor, June 17, 2011. 69 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | JUNE 2012
matters that the foreigner has to respect.” 175 His announcement leaves unclear, however, how a commercial employment contract will replace Qatar’s current system of immigration regulations that tie workers’ residency in the country to a specific employer. Furthermore, there is no information about the specific timetable for abolishing the sponsorship system. Having ratified ILO conventions 29 and 105 on forced labor and its abolition, Qatar is legally obligated to “suppress forced or compulsory labor,” defined as “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.” 176 The ILO Committee of Experts explained that “menace of penalty” may be a penal sanction, or “loss of rights or privileges.” 177 Such privileges include loss of legal residency status and the ability to work legally, as well as the loss of the right to return to one’s own country. 178 Human Rights Watch has repeatedly documented how the sponsorship system, which exists with some variations throughout the Gulf region, allows sponsoring employers to extract work from migrant workers under conditions that amount forced labor. Even when workers voluntarily migrate for work, they often have limited or incorrect information about their employment arrangements and restrictions on rights. Recruitment “on the basis of false promises” of “good wages and good working conditions” does not constitute voluntary consent, according to the ILO, meaning that even workers who willingly migrate to Qatar find themselves in situations of forced labor when recruiting agents deceive them about their salary or job. 179 175 Habib Toumi, “Qatar may allow trade unions, scrap 'sponsorships' for foreign workers,” Gulf News, May 1, 2012, available at: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/qatar/qatar-may-allow-trade-unions-scrap-sponsorships-for-foreign-workers-1.1016594 (accessed May 3, 2012). 176 ILO Convention No. 29 concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour (Forced Labour Convention), adopted June 28, 1930, 39 U.N.T.S. 55, entered into force May 1, 1932., arts. 1 and 2. ILO Convention No. 105 concerning Abolition of Forced Labour (Abolition of Forced Labour Convention), adopted June 25, 1957, 320 U.N.T.S. 291, entered into force January 17, 1959, arts. 1 and 2. 177 International Labor Conference, “1979 General Survey of the Reports relating to the Forced Labor Convention, 1930 (No. 29) and the Abolition of Forced Labor Convention, 1975, (No. 105), Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations,” 65th Session, Geneva, 1979, Report III, para. 21. 178 ILO, “A Global Alliance Against Forced Labour: Global Report under the Follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work 2005,” International Labour Conference, 93rd Session, 2005, p. 6, http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_norm/@declaration/documents/publication/wcms_081882.pdf (accessed October 6, 2011). 179 International Labour Organization, “Report of the Committee set up to examine the representation made by the Latin American Central of Workers (CLAT) under article 24 of the ILO Constitution alleging non-observance by Brazil of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105),” GB.264/16/7, 1995, paras. 9, 22, 25, 61. BUILDING A BETTER WORLD CUP 70
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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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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
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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
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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
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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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Page 113 and 114: Regarding healthcare, it is well kn
Page 115 and 116: Qatari laws do not permit charging
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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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