FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 released a report detailing various aspects of the tournament by the numbers. As part of the numbers released, it was revealed that the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) reimbursed 49,000 workers who were charged illegal recruitment fees with amounts totalling QAR86.6 million.
Three hotel operators and service providers were also reimbursed QAR163,670.
Qatar workers’ welfare and labour rights
The FIFA World Cup in Qatar was the first to establish a dedicated workers’ welfare and labour rights team to oversee the protection of labour rights from the commencement of construction until the end of the tournament.
The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) developed a contractually binding Workers’ Welfare Standards (WWS) to ensure proper working and living conditions for workers. The WWS covered 30,000 construction workers and 200,000 workers engaged with the wider tournament services including hospitality, transportation and security.
The WWS were enforced through four-tier audits and inspections system comprising of contractors’ audits, the SC audits, external monitoring by Impact Ltd and ad-hoc inspections by the Qatar Ministry of Labour.
Due diligence was conducted for the hospitality sector covering 156 hotel operators with an estimated 40,000 workforce. Hospitality was the first no-construction sector that implemented the WWS.
Over 83 inspections were conducted for the health and safety and to facilitate training and review the SC’ grievance mechanisms for workers.
Workers were allowed to share grievances via elected representatives. A dedicated grievance hotline allowed workers to report grievances anonymously, available in 11 languages and running round the clock, the hotline received 2,441 cases of which over 80 percent was resolved.
Health and safety initiatives
Comprehensive medical screenings were conducted to ensure early detection of underlying health conditions amongst workers and provide tailored treatment plans. Over 46,000 screenings were conducted.
Heat stress mitigation plans were mandated, including the provision of cooled and shaded rest areas, water stations, medical care plans as well as training and awareness on heat stress.
Cooling suits were designed to reduce thermal skin temperature, over 5,000 suits were deployed in addition to 4,926 cooling vests.
A heat stress study was also commissioned which led to the ban on working in open places from 10 AM to 3:30 PM.
A nutrition programme was also implemented to improve dietary and lifestyle habits among workers.
A training and up-skilling programme to enhance the technical and soft skills of workers as well as upskilling site medical staff to enhance their knowledge and response to health and safety risks.
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