Amnesty renews calls for action on Qatar migrant recruitment
18 November 2013
Human rights charity Amnesty International says that “far-reaching” measures must been taken immediately to combat what it calls “corporate exploitation of migrant construction workers” in Qatar.
Mon, 18 Nov 2013Human rights charity Amnesty International says that “far-reaching” measures must been taken immediately to combat what it calls “corporate exploitation of migrant construction workers” in Qatar.
Its new report ‘Qatar: The dark side of migration: Spotlight on Qatar's construction sector ahead of the World Cup’ puts further pressure on the Gulf State whose labour practices have come under repeated scrutiny as the country builds towards the 2022 Football World Cup.
Amnesty secretary-general Salil Shetty says: “Unless critical, far-reaching steps are taken immediately, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who will be recruited in the coming years to deliver Qatar’s vision face a high risk of being abused.”
The Qatari population is growing at the rate of around 20 people per hour, with non-nationals making up the majority of both the population and the workforce.
Says Shetty: “Many migrants arrive in Qatar full of hopes, only to have these crushed soon after they arrive. There’s no time to delay - the government must act now to end this abuse.”
Last month, recruiters involved in the region told recruiter.co.uk that the high-profile alleged ill treatment of workers on World Cup venues is not representative of the bigger labour picture in the nation, although acknowledged the seriousness of the issue.
Its new report ‘Qatar: The dark side of migration: Spotlight on Qatar's construction sector ahead of the World Cup’ puts further pressure on the Gulf State whose labour practices have come under repeated scrutiny as the country builds towards the 2022 Football World Cup.
Amnesty secretary-general Salil Shetty says: “Unless critical, far-reaching steps are taken immediately, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who will be recruited in the coming years to deliver Qatar’s vision face a high risk of being abused.”
The Qatari population is growing at the rate of around 20 people per hour, with non-nationals making up the majority of both the population and the workforce.
Says Shetty: “Many migrants arrive in Qatar full of hopes, only to have these crushed soon after they arrive. There’s no time to delay - the government must act now to end this abuse.”
Last month, recruiters involved in the region told recruiter.co.uk that the high-profile alleged ill treatment of workers on World Cup venues is not representative of the bigger labour picture in the nation, although acknowledged the seriousness of the issue.
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