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1 Apr 2020

NGO coalition calls on Qatar to put migrant worker welfare at the front of their response to Covid-19

On 31 March 2020, a coalition of civil society organisations and trade unions, including the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, sent a letter to the Qatar government, urging them to take actions to take preventative steps to protect migrant workers during the Covid-19 outbreak.

The letter follows reports of increased numbers of cases of coronavirus among migrant workers in a labour camp just outside Doha. Migrant workers are among the most vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic, to a heightened risk of infection due to their cramped living conditions and to suffering disproportionate and devastating economic hardship.

The letter makes five asks to ensure that:

  1. Migrant workers, whose living conditions leave them vulnerable to infecion, are tested and provided with medical treatment and the means to protect themselves from infection. This includes an ask that the authorities monitor companies across all sectors to ensure they are operating responsibly to implement the guidelines and requirements;
  2. No one, including migrant workers, is detained for violating quarantine;
  3. Migrant workers unable to work either due to quarantine or illness continue to receive their full wages;
  4. The public is provided with information to ensure migrant, including domestic, workers do not face discrimination or stigma in relation to the virus; and
  5. Domestic workers are provided with access to protective measures and healthcare, and guaranteed sick pay.

The letter's signatories include: AFL-CIO, Amnesty International, Building & Woodworkers International, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, Equidem, Equidem Nepal, Fair/ Square, Francois Crepeau, Global Labor Justice, Human Rights Watch, Humanity United, International Transport Workers Federation, International Trade Union Confederation, Migrant Forum in Asia, Migrant-Rights, Solidarity Center.

Similar letters were sent to all Gulf states; they can be read here.

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