Labor Abuse in Qatar for the World Cup

Almost 26 million people in the US only watched the World Cup final this year and around 5 billion worldwide. Around 100 new hotels, 8 new stadiums, multiple new roads, and a new highway were all created to support the World Cup in Qatar. None of this was possible without the large number of migrant workers, accounting for almost 90% of the workforce in Qatar, who were forced to build these new pieces of infrastructure while battling abusive working conditions.  

One of the reasons the population of migrant workers is so high is because of the Kafala System that until recently was used by Qatar companies to sponsor foreign workers to come to the country but doesn't allow them to switch jobs. Despite this, many companies continue to pressure or threaten their workers to continue to work for them. Many of these migrant workers come from South Asian countries like Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and the Philippines. The majority of them came to Qatar fleeing the difficult conditions of their home country in hopes of a better life but were met with recruitment fees, withheld wages, neglected living spaces, withdrawn passports, and most importantly inhumane work conditions at their new jobs. Recently a migrant worker from Nepal spoke out about the way his employer treated him stating that “The foreman was very demanding and used to complain a lot. [He] used to threaten us to reduce our salaries and overtime pay”. 

An estimated 6,500 South Asian migrant workers have died in Qatar since the 2023 World Cup location was announced. Most of these people received low wages and were forced to work dangerous labor often in extreme heat. While the tournament was moved to November and December due to the dangers the heat posed to players and fans, that danger didn’t stop workers who were forced to labor through the summer months in Qatar, which often reached around 109 degrees Fahrenheit. The dangerous heat caused the government to create regulations that generally prohibited workers from working outdoors from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. between June 15 to August 31. Although this was a good first step, many workers reported that few companies followed these rules. The number of injuries due to heat has been difficult to determine because many injuries don’t show up until later when workers return home with non functional kidneys and cardiac weaknesses. 

While the world has its eyes on the labor abuse that took place in Qatar as new information comes out, it's important to recognize that this is a global issue that continues to be a problem in many countries even if it's not being highlighted by the media.