Rights Group: Qatar Migrant Workers Treated Like Animals
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Qatar's construction sector is rife with abuse, an international human rights group said in a report published as work begins on FIFA World Cup 2022 stadiums.
In its report, Amnesty International (AI) said migrant workers are often subjected to non-payment of wages, dangerous working conditions and squalid accommodation.
The rights group said one manager had referred to workers as "animals".
Amnesty said it conducted interviews with 210 workers, employers and government officials for its report, The Dark Side of Migration: Spotlight on Qatar's construction sector ahead of the World Cup.
The report includes testimony from Nepalese workers employed by a company delivering supplies to a construction project associated with the planned Fifa headquarters.
The workers said they were "treated like cattle", working up to 12 hours a day, seven days a week, including during Qatar's hot summer months.
Amnesty said some of the abuses amounted to "forced labour".
Some migrant workers were threatened with penalty fines, deportation or loss of income if they did not show up to work even though they were not being paid, Amnesty said.
