Qatar 2022: FIFA responds to HRW report on continued labour abuse for migrant workers despite promised changes
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Six months after the final of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, Human Rights Watch have released a report documenting widespread abuse of migrant workers during the tournament. HRW spoke with two dozen workers from Nepal, India and Kenya. All workers reported indicators of labour exploitation, including wage theft, as a result of the post-tournament economic slowdown, and unexplained deaths.
Workers told HRW they had not received compensation from Qatari authorities; two workers had already returned to their home countries because although they received a favourable ruling they could not afford to wait in Qatar while their employer paid their salaries or to wait for the authorities to compensate them.
Qatari authorities and FIFA leaders have repeatedly claimed that existing systems and policies in Qatar protected migrant workers from wage theft and other widespread abuses. But the evidence has once again exposed their misleading claims, which they shamelessly used to deflect criticism when the international spotlight was on Qatar.Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch
In response to a request from the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, FIFA provided a statement. This can be read in full below.