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\u201cInaction\u201d by Qatar and Fifa on workers\u2019 rights is \u201ctainting the legacy\u201d of the 2022 World Cup, according to Amnesty International.<\/p>\n
Almost a year since the tournament began, the human rights group claims progress has \u201clargely stalled\u201d.<\/p>\n
It says \u201cremedy and justice for hundreds of thousands of workers who suffered abuses linked to the tournament remain elusive\u201d.<\/p>\n
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In a new report titled \u2018A Legacy in Jeopardy\u2019, the organisation concludes that reforms have been \u201cweakly-enforced\u201d with abuses \u201cstill continuing\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, Qatar\u2019s government responded by insisting that the World Cup \u201caccelerated labour reforms, creating a significant and lasting tournament legacy\u201d.<\/p>\n
Fifa said it was \u201cundeniable that significant progress has taken place\u201d, but accepted that \u201cheightened efforts are needed to ensure the reforms benefit all workers in the country\u201d.<\/p>\n
Controversy over the human cost of building the infrastructure required for the 2022 tournament in the gulf state\u2019s extreme summer heat has hung over the event for years.<\/p>\n
In 2021 it was\u00a0revealed that 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had died in Qatar\u00a0since it won its bid to host the World Cup in 2010.<\/p>\n
However, the Qatari government said not all the deaths recorded were of people working on World Cup-related projects, and that many could have died from old age or other natural causes. Before the tournament, authorities claimed there had only been three \u2018work-related\u2019 deaths on actual stadium construction sites since work began in 2014.<\/p>\n
But during the event, organisers said the number of migrant workers who died on World Cup-related projects was \u201cbetween 400 and 500\u201d.<\/p>\n
Qatar had introduced labour reforms from 2017, with more protection for workers, a minimum wage, and the dismantling of the controversial \u2018kafala\u2019 sponsorship system, but there have been long-standing concerns over the implementation of the changes.<\/p>\n
Despite pressure from campaigners and European football associations, as well as generating a record \u00a36bn from the World Cup, Fifa resisted calls for a compensation fund for the families of workers who had died, instead setting up a \u2018legacy fund\u2019 directed at education.<\/p>\n
Amid calls for the creation of a Migrant Worker Centre in Doha, Fifa President Gianni Infantino announced plans for a permanent office for the International Labour Organization \u2013 a UN agency.<\/p>\n
\u2018Too little has been done\u2019, Amnesty says<\/strong><\/p>\n Amnesty acknowledges that it has learned from migrant workers that most can now leave the country freely, and noted advances in the enforcement of laws related to working in heat. But it said that \u201cbeyond this, [workers] painted a bleak picture of lost momentum and continued exploitation\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cQatar\u2019s continued failure to properly enforce or strengthen its pre-World Cup labour reforms puts any potential legacy for workers in serious peril\u201d, said Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International\u2019s Head of Economic Social Justice.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom illegal recruitment fees to unpaid wages, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers lost their money, health and even their lives while Fifa and Qatar tried to deflect and deny responsibility\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cA year on from the tournament, too little has been done to right all these wrongs, but the workers who made the 2022 World Cup possible must not be forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n Amnesty said details of the promised tournament legacy fund \u201cremain vague\u201d, and that while workers no longer legally require a \u2018no-objection certificate\u2019 from employers to change jobs, in practice many must still secure some form of permission. It added that \u201chuge barriers remain\u201d for workers trying to access remedy through the justice system.<\/p>\n Fifa told BBC Sport it was conducting an independent assessment on \u201cwhether additional steps would be recommended in view of further strengthening the tournament\u2019s legacy for migrant workers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cInternational experts and trade union representatives [\u2026] have repeatedly recognised that major steps forward have occurred in the labour rights sphere\u201d it said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is undeniable that significant progress has taken place, and it is equally clear that the enforcement of such transformative reforms takes time and that heightened efforts are needed to ensure the reforms benefit all workers in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n Qatar insists upon \u2018significant and lasting legacy\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n In a statement, the Qatari government told the BBC: \u201cThe World Cup accelerated labour reforms in Qatar, creating a significant and lasting tournament legacy.<\/p>\n \u201cQatar now leads the region on workers\u2019 rights and labour reforms, setting an example for other countries on how a system can be successfully overhauled.<\/p>\n \u201cThe region\u2019s first non-discriminatory minimum wage, 97% of all salaries protected through the Wage Protection System, the removal of barriers to change jobs, a simplified complaints mechanism and easier access to justice, stricter enforcement including a crackdown on the payment of illegal recruitment fees, increased awareness of workers\u2019 rights, region-leading health and safety standards on-site and in accommodations, and regular health screenings to identify underlying conditions.<\/p>\n \u201cOne year on from the World Cup, Qatar\u2019s commitment to labour reform remains as strong as ever as we strive to establish a world-leading labour system.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n