Posted on February 6, 2016
A union investigation has confirmed the migrant workers toiling to get Qatar ready for the 2022 World Cup are still facing overcrowded, squalid accommodation and deadly working conditions. Unite general secretary Len McCluskey was part of delegation that made a secret, after-dark trip to a labour camp in Al Khor, north of the capital Doha, to see the conditions and speak to the workers. “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,” Mr McCluskey told the Mirror. Mr McCluskey said he will form a united front with MPs and campaigners after witnessing widespread abuse of migrants on his unofficial visit. He also plans to build an alliance with the players’ union PFA and supporters’ clubs to demand guarantees from the five candidates to succeed Sepp Blatter as FIFA boss. “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,” said Mr McCluskey. “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.” Labour frontbencher Ian Lavery, who was part of the delegation, said: “These people are being treated like animals and the appalling wages and conditions trap them in a nightmare.” The global union confederation ITUC estimates thousands more migrant workers could die in the run up to 2022 event unless conditions and workers’ rights are dramatically improved.

http://www.ituc-csi.org/frontlines-report-2015-qatar?lang=en
http://playfairqatar.org.uk/
http://www.qatarexposed.org/