The number of workers killed in Qatar during the run-up to the soccer World Cup was between “400 and 500”, a drastically higher number than previously announced, a Qatari official admitted.
According to the Associated Press, the remarks by Hassan al-Thawadi, secretary general of Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Surrender and Legacy, were made during an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan.
Al-Thawadi’s comments could add to criticism from human rights groups about the cost to the country’s migrant workers of hosting the first World Cup in the Middle East, when $200 billion (19.3 billion euros) was spent. in stadiums, metro lines and new infrastructure necessary for the tournament.
The Supreme Committee and the government of Qatar have yet to respond today to an AP request for comment on Al-Thawadi’s comments.
In the interview -in excerpts already published by Piers Morgan on the internet-, the British journalist asks Al-Thawadi: “What is the honest, totally realistic number of migrant workers who have died as a result of the work they are doing for the World Cup? Football, in full?
“The estimate is around 400, between 400 and 500,” Al-Thawadi replied.
I don’t have the exact number. This is something that has been discussed,” the official said.
However, this number has not previously been publicly discussed. The Supreme Committee reports dating from 2014 to the end of 2021 only include the number of deaths of workers involved in the construction and renovation of the stadiums that today host the soccer World Cup.
The total number of deaths published by the Qatari government was 40. These figures include 37 that local authorities describe as non-work-related incidents, such as heart attacks, and three from workplace incidents. In another report, the death of a worker due to the new coronavirus during the covid-19 pandemic also appears separately.
Since FIFA awarded the tournament to Qatar in 2010, the country has taken some steps to review labor practices. This included removing the so-called ‘kafala’ employment system, which linked workers to their employers, who could decide whether employees could leave their jobs or even the country.
Qatar has also adopted a monthly minimum wage of 1,000 Qatari riyals (275 dollars or 265 euros) for workers and required food and housing allowances for employees who do not receive these benefits directly from their employers. It also updated its worker safety rules to prevent fatalities.
“One death is one more death. Pure and simple,” Al-Thawadi added in the interview.
Activists have called on Doha to do more, particularly when it comes to ensuring workers are paid on time and protected from abusive employers.
Al-Thawadi’s comment also renews doubts about the veracity of reports by governments and private companies on injuries and deaths of workers in the Persian Gulf states, whose buildings were built by workers from South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan and Sri Lankan.
Mustafa Qadri, chief executive of Equidem Research, a labor consultancy that has published reports on the cost of construction for migrant workers, said he was surprised by al-Thawadi’s comment.
“For him to come now and say that there are hundreds [de mortos], It is shocking. They have no idea what’s going on,” Qadri told the AP.
Source: TSF
