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An investigation by Amnesty International found that Mercury MENA took advantage of the sponsorship system in Qatar to exploit workers, failing to pay them thousands of dollars in wages and benefits, and leaving them stranded in Qatar. Amnesty found that the wage delays occurred from February 2016 onwards, remaining unresolved in 2017. Mercury MENA also failed to provide residence permits to workers, restricting their ability to move jobs or leave the country. Mercury MENA also hired recruitment agents who illegally charged fees.
In 2019 it was reported that some workers had had to sell property to pay for medical bills after their company-covered insurance expired, and in some cases were unwell because they could not afford treatment. Workers also had to take out loans to cover debts racked up whilst they waited for wages to be paid, were unable to pay for their children's education and faced having their homes and land reposessed to cover the amounts owed.
In February 2020, it was reported that the Nepali government had secured payment for about 34 migrants.
Empresas
Mercury MENA
- Employer
,
Paradise International
- Recruiter
,
FIFA
- Partner
Proyectos
Al Janoub Stadium (previously called Al Wakrah)
- Client
,
Lusail City
- Unknown
Afectado
Total de personas afectadas:
78
Trabajadores migrantes e inmigrantes: (
Número desconocido
- India
, Construcción
, Género no especificado
)
,
Trabajadores migrantes e inmigrantes: (
Número desconocido
- Filipinas
, Construcción
, Género no especificado
)
,
Trabajadores migrantes e inmigrantes: (
Número desconocido
- Nepal
, Construcción
, Género no especificado
)
Temas
Servidumbre por deudas
,
Incumplimiento con la renovación de visas
,
Salarios precarios
,
Derecho a la alimentación
,
Tasas de contratación
,
Robo de salarios
Respuesta
Respuesta solicitada: Sí, por Resource Centre; Amnesty International
Mercury MENA, failed to pay its workers thousands of dollars in wages and work benefits, leaving them stranded and penniless in Qatar...Between October 2017 and April 2018 Amnesty International interviewed 78 former Mercury MENA employees from India, Nepal and the Philippines...Most of the former Mercury MENA employees interviewed by Amnesty International were owed between US$1,370 and US$2,470 (QAR 5,000 and 9,000) in salaries and benefits...The company also failed to provide legally required residence permits to workers, which led to fines that placed additional restrictions on their ability to move jobs or leave the country. Recruitment agencies hired by Mercury MENA illegally charged workers high fees for their jobs, compelling them to take out high interest loans. This pushed them into severe debt that made it difficult for workers to escape or challenge exploitative conditions.
Amnesty International is calling on the Nepal and Qatar governments to support the former Mercury MENA workers to get justice and receive the money that they are owed, and to take steps to prevent similar cases from arising in the future.
In November 2017 Amnesty International spoke to the CEO of Mercury MENA, who acknowledged long-standing pay delays but denied exploiting workers. He said that Mercury MENA had been the victim of unscrupulous business partners resulting in “cashflow problems” and a number of disputes over payments with contractors and clients. Documented communications between Mercury MENA and its workers show that the company’s management were fully aware of the problems with salary payments, and continued to make promises to pay wages that were ultimately not kept. Amnesty sent further emails to Mercury MENA’s CEO in December 2017 and January 2018 requesting information about their situation and what actions they were taking, as well as a letter in July 2018 summarizing the key points of our investigation, to which no response was provided.