Qatar has rejected calls for a brand new compensation fund for migrant staff killed or injured on its mega tasks for the soccer World Cup, with the nation’s labour minister calling it a “publicity stunt”.
Labour Minister Ali bin Samikh Al Marri advised AFP that Qatar is already handing out lots of of thousands and thousands of {dollars} for unpaid wages, and accused the Gulf state’s critics of “racism”.
Qatar already has a fund to take care of worker deaths and accidents, and Marri mentioned teams criticising his nation ought to assist “strengthen” it.
“This call for a duplicative FIFA-led compensation campaign is a publicity stunt,” he mentioned in an interview. “Our door is open. We have dealt with and resolved a lot of cases.”
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have led calls for this yr for FIFA and Qatar to create a fund for staff matching the $440 million World Cup prize cash.
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Accusations towards Qatar
The teams accuse Qatar of under-reporting deaths on building websites and from heat-related diseases within the nation’s searing summer season temperatures.
FIFA has mentioned there may be “ongoing dialogue” concerning the fund, however within the authorities’s first public remark, Marri mentioned the proposal was unworkable.
“Every death is a tragedy,” Marri mentioned, including: “There is not any standards to set up these funds.
“Where are the victims, do you have names of the victims, how can you get these numbers?” he requested.
Some worldwide commerce union leaders have additionally mentioned a brand new fund could be too difficult to arrange and handle.
Amnesty International official Steve Cockburn known as the minister’s feedback “hugely disappointing”.
“The vast majority of migrant workers who have now returned home to countries like Nepal or Bangladesh are unable to access Qatar’s current scheme,”
he mentioned.
“Qatar must expand its existing compensation funds or establish a new one –- no one is saying it is easy, but if the will is there, a solution could be found.”
Marri mentioned Qatar’s present fund would assist staff who’ve suffered.
“If there is a person entitled to compensation who has not received it, they should come forward and we will help them,”
he mentioned, including that Qatar was prepared to take a look at circumstances from greater than a decade in the past.
‘Racist motivations’
Qatar has confronted a barrage of criticism because it was named a World Cup host in 2010. Attacks have elevated this yr over migrant staff, LGBTQ freedoms and girls’s rights.
Last month, Qatar’s emir mentioned the nation was dealing with an “unprecedented campaign” of criticism forward of the November 20 kick-off.
Marri mentioned detractors had ignored reforms applied since 2017 with the assistance of the UN’s International Labour Organization and unions.
Critics have used “false information” and “rumours” to “discredit Qatar with deliberately misleading claims”, he mentioned.
Marri added that some overseas politicians deployed “double standards” and used Qatar “as an arena to solve their own political problems”.
The minister didn’t give an instance, however Qatar final week summoned the German ambassador over feedback made by the nation’s inside minister.
Some opponents additionally acted by way of “racism”, Marri mentioned.
“They don’t need to permit a small nation, an Arab nation, an Islamic nation, to organise the World Cup.
“They know very well about the reforms that have been made, but they don’t acknowledge it because they have racist motivations.”
The ‘Kafala’ employment system that opponents mentioned was close to slavery has been just about dismantled in Qatar. Workers can now change jobs and depart the nation with out their employer’s permission.
The authorities has established a minimal wage of 1 000 riyals ($275) a month, and handed legal guidelines towards trafficking and limiting the hours that may be labored in excessive warmth.
‘People still attack us’
Marri mentioned 420 000 staff have switched jobs because the legal guidelines have been handed, and a fund created in 2018 had paid out $320 million this yr alone to staff who had misplaced or had wages stolen by firms.
“After all this effort, all these reforms, people still attack us,”
he mentioned.
The ILO this week mentioned unpaid wages have been staff’ largest grievance, and that Qatar’s fundamental problem is to apply its new legal guidelines. Marri mentioned his ministry was “focused” on the duty.
“If a salary payment is delayed for one month, we will pay from the fund and take action,” he mentioned, including that house owners of blacklisted firms had been fined and jailed.
Forty-two recruiting companies accused of exploitation have been closed, tribunals listening to complaints have elevated from three to 5, and additional labour inspections have been ordered on motels and different industries in the course of the World Cup.
Marri mentioned the World Cup has solely “speeded up” Qatar’s reforms. “We will reconfirm our commitments and continue our reforms because we want to continually improve our own country.”
© Agence France-Presse
