ITUC: The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has announced a
new investigation into the conditions of workers in Qatar following a visit of
ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow to Nepal to hear first hand accounts from
workers who have just returned from the Gulf Kingdom.
Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said new figures made public
during her visit recorded 162 deaths of Nepalese workers in Qatar in the first
ten months of 2011. Most of the workers’ deaths are unexplained, and are simply
recorded as deaths “during sleep” or from “heart attacks”.
Nepalese embassy statistics from
January – October 2011 show
- 13 migrant workers committed suicide
- 22 work-related deaths were documented
- 92 deaths were unexplained
“One
construction worker I spoke to was working outside in 40 degree heat. When he
asked to resign, he was not allowed. Instead he was forced to work 18 months in
life-threatening conditions, to make enough money for his ticket home,” said
Sharan Burrow.
“Many workers die from heat exhaustion,
in 2010 this was covered up as heart attacks, now we’re told the workers are
dying in their sleep.”
“These young
men are angry about how they were treated. One found out that he was earning
$100 a month less than a colleague doing the same job. When he asked for equal
pay, his employer refused. He said he would not work, and wanted to return home,
but was kept in Qatar until he had paid for his ticket,” said Burrow.
During meetings with President Ram Baran Yadav and Prime Minister
Baburam Bhattarai, Burrow committed the ITUC’s support to protect the rights of
workers from Nepal and other countries working under extreme and harsh
conditions in Qatar.
1.2million
Nepalis are believed to be working in Gulf States including Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.
Qatar is launching one of the largest
infrastructure programmes in history, with more than US$ 100bn in construction
investment. Tens of thousands more migrants from Nepal and elsewhere are
expected to flood into the country in the coming years. Migrants are banned
from forming trade unions, and anyone taking industrial action over issues like
safety or unpaid wages is deported.
The ITUC will release the investigation
on workers conditions in Qatar towards the end of the year. Negotiations are
continuing with FIFA on protections for workers building Qatar World Cup
facilities.
The ITUC has warned it will launch an
international campaign ‘No Labour Rights – No World Cup’ unless workers’ rights
are upheld in Qatar.
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