Qatar's construction sector is booming in the lead up to the World Cup, but the treatment of many of the workers amounts to forced labor, a new report states.
The Amnesty International report is based on interviews with workers, employers and government officials and documents a range of abuses against migrant workers.
These include non-payment of wages, harsh and dangerous working conditions, and shocking standards of accommodation.
Salil Shetty, the Secretary General of Amnesty International, says that employers in Qatar have displayed "an appalling disregard for the basic human rights of migrant workers".
"It is simply inexcusable in one of the richest countries in the world, that so many migrant workers are being ruthlessly exploited, deprived of their pay and left struggling to survive," she says.
The report also states that discriminatory attitudes towards migrant workers in Qatar – many of whom come from South or Southeast Asia – are common. Amnesty International researchers heard a manager of one construction firm referred to the workers as "the animals".
Many workers hail from countries like Nepal- one of the poorest countries in the world- where in some remote mountain villages every household has at least one person working abroad.
Correspondent Andrew North spoke to workers who had returned to Nepal after experiencing the conditions in Qatar. One worker said he would never go to Qatar again, as "it's better to die here in Nepal".
Share
