The leader of the UK’s Unite trade union has claimed that many migrant workers in Qatar are “trapped in a living hell”.
The comments of Len McCluskey come after a visit to a labour camp in Al Khor, north of the capital Doha, the UK’s Mirror reported on Monday.
“Football is a beautiful game turned ugly by the heartbreaking ill-treatment of wave after wave of workers lured to Qatar on false promises, then trapped in a living hell,” the paper quoted McCluskey as saying.
McCluskey added that he will form a united front with MPs and campaigners after witnessing widespread abuse of migrants on his unofficial visit to the Gulf state.
Last month, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said Qatar has made progress in its efforts to improve the lives of migrant labourers, departing from previous UN criticism of the wealthy nation’s treatment of workers.
Rights groups accuse Qatar of abusive labour laws and of forcing some workers to live in squalor and work under poor safety conditions.
Unions and labour protests are banned and authorities penalise dissent with jail terms or immediate deportation.
In the Mirror article, McCluskey said migrant workers he met complained through an interpreter about low pay and long hours.
All said their passports have been taken by their employers and claim they are paid less than promised when they took loans to pay an agent for work in Qatar.
“Wages agreed in advance aren’t paid and they’re packed into dirty, hot, crowded rooms, with the inadequate cooking and washing areas a severe health risk because they’re so dirty,” he was quoted as saying.
“Every football fan, trade unionist and anybody who cares about decency must protest loudly because we can’t stand by and look the other way, letting these workers be tortured like this.”
Qatar hosts 1.6 million foreign workers from countries such as India, Nepal and Bangladesh. They outnumber the local workforce by nearly 20 to one.
In 2014 the UN called on Qatar to abolish its “kafala” or sponsorship system, which forces foreign workers to seek their employer’s consent to change jobs or leave the country.
The system is used in various forms across the Gulf Arab region, and rights groups say it contributes to widespread labour abuse. Qatar has not yet abolished the law, but efforts are underway.
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