Complaints by migrant workers in Qatar have more than doubled ahead of World Cup: UN
The UN labor agency says the number of complaints by migrant workers in Qatar has more than doubled, urging the country to build on the "significant" labor reforms, less than a month before the country hosts the FIFA World Cup 2022.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) said on Tuesday that worker complaints had reached 34,425 in a year with the launch of a new online platform.
Unpaid wages dominate the growing number of complaints registered by migrant workers in Qatar, the UN labour agency.
"The main causes of complaints concerned non-payment of wages and end-of-service benefits, and annual leave not being granted or paid," the report said, noting that 10,500 cases went to labor tribunals where nearly all judges ruled in favor of workers.
The ILO urged Qatar, where the FIFA World Cup starts on November 20, to bolster the implementation of reforms launched after criticism of its rights record.
The report said the number of workers treated for heat-related problems linked to the Persian Gulf nation's scorching summer temperatures dropped from 620 in 2021 to only 351 after the introduction of new restrictions last year.
The UN body said Qatar has carried out "significant" reforms that have "improved the working and living conditions for hundreds of thousands of workers", adding that the measures were having an impact across the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf region.
"There is a universal acknowledgement that more needs to be done to fully apply and enforce the labor reforms," said the report.
"We all recognize that we are not yet at the finish line, and we will build on this solid foundation to address the gaps in implementation, and ensure that all workers and employers can fully benefit from these major reforms," Ruba Jaradat, ILO regional director for Arab states, was quoted as saying.
Qatar’s rights record has come under scrutiny since 2014 when international unions made an official complaint about the country.
The ILO established a temporary office in Doha since then, but it is expected to become permanent as the agency said Qatar has made such a request.
It would be the first full office in a region where conditions for migrant workers are regularly criticized.
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