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Article

13 Oct 2023

Author:
By Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz (USA)

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar may be over but the labor trafficking and exploitation fallout from it isn't

Construction workers building the 2022 FIFA World Cup stadium in Qatar have sued a US firm for human trafficking and labor exploitation.

At least 38 Filipino plaintiffs have brought Dallas-based Jacobs Solutions and its subsidiary CH2M to court for choosing to “knowingly participate in—and profit from—ventures that exploited Plaintiffs’ labor,” according to the complaint (pdf) filed in a Colorado district court yesterday (Oct. 12). They’re suing over the violation of the US Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act…

The workers allege that the firms lied to workers about the terms of their employment and available living conditions, holing them up in cramped, unhygienic barracks and having the work in the heat for up to 72 hours straight without food and water…

In a statement emailed to Quartz, Jacobs Solutions said it had “not yet been served with the lawsuit or had the opportunity to thoroughly review the allegations.” It added: “As a purpose-led company, we are committed to respecting the human rights…

The latest case adds to a trove of complaints filed by workers around the world, including a 2016 one by the Netherlands Trade Union Confederation (FNV) on behalf of Nepali workers…

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