Qatar 2022: Nepali low-wage construction workers describe fee-payment & debt to work on stadiums
Summary
Date Reported: 20 Dec 2022
Location: Qatar
Companies
FIFA - PartnerProjects
Lusail Stadium - ClientOther
Not Reported ( Construction ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Nepal , Construction , Gender not reported )Issues
Poverty Wages , Wage Theft , Recruitment Fees , Mandatory overtime , Contract Substitution , Mental Health , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure TimeResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: None reported.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 20 Dec 2022
Location: Qatar
Companies
FIFA - PartnerProjects
974 Stadium (previously called Ras Abu Aboud) - ClientOther
Not Reported ( Construction ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Nepal , Construction , Gender not reported )Issues
Recruitment Fees , DismissalResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: None reported.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 20 Dec 2022
Location: Qatar
Other
Not Reported ( Construction ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Nepal , Construction , Gender not reported )Issues
Occupational Health & Safety , Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Recruitment Fees , Heat exposure , Access to Water , Mental Health , Freedom of ExpressionResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: None reported.
Source type: News outlet
Shutterstock
"'Dark days in Qatar': Nepali workers face bitter legacy of World Cup debts," 20 Dec 2022
For some the deal has worked out. They earned a regular if low wage, which meant they could afford to send their children to better schools, buy land or rebuild their house. For others, the World Cup has left a bitter legacy...
Adhikari says he was forced to pay 115,000 rupees (£715) to a recruitment agent in Nepal to secure his job, which left him mired in debt. He says the agent promised a salary of 1200 rials (£270) a month but he was only paid 750 rials (£170), forcing him to put in countless hours of overtime to make up the difference...
Naresh Shrestha, a construction manager who also worked on Lusail stadium, has a very different view... "The World Cup has very much improved working conditions in Qatar. Some rules were changed to benefit workers. It's very good now."...
When Magar set out for Qatar in 2021, he expected to be there for at least two years. Already in debt in Nepal, he says he took out more loans to pay a recruitment agent about 135,000 rupees (£840) for the job in Qatar. He spent eight months working on Stadium 974, the temporary arena that won praise for its innovative design, before he was suddenly sent home...