Topline
Qatar arrested at least 60 migrant laborers protesting working conditions earlier this month, according to a report Monday from a human rights group, only the latest controversy to hit the country and its treatment of workers hired to ready the country for November’s World Cup.
A worker walks in the newly constructed stadium in Doha, Qatar for the World Cup.
Key Facts
Last week, Qatari authorities arrested 60-plus foreign workers who alleged they went unpaid for as long as seven months, deporting some of them, according to the London-based labor rights group Equidem.
The Qatari embassy in Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment, though a Qatari official confirmed the arrests to the Associated Press, claiming in a statement the protestors were “breaching public safety laws.”
Qatar has relied on thousands of migrant workers, primarily from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan, to build seven new stadiums, a new airport and other multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects ahead of the World Cup.
Key Background
The arrests follow years of outrage at Qatar’s treatment of its extensive foreign worker population since FIFA awarded the 2022 World Cup to the country in 2010. An analysis from the Guardian last year found that at least 6,500 migrant workers have died in Qatar in the last decade. Groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have reported extensive evidence of labor abuses associated with World Cup construction in Qatar, including forced labor and cramped living conditions. Organizers of the event acknowledged worker abuses took place in April, though it blamed the “unacceptable” exploitation on three companies contracted for the event in a statement.
Tangent
There are 1.7 million migrant workers in Qatar, according to Amnesty International, representing 90% of the country’s workforce.
Big Number
About $200 billion. That’s how much Qatar has spent on construction for the upcoming World Cup, the first World Cup in the Middle East, and the first taking place in the winter due to the country’s extreme heat.
Further Reading
Qatar World Cup organizers admit workers were exploited (Associated Press)
Revealed: 6,500 migrant workers have died in Qatar since World Cup awarded (Guardian)
Why is the World Cup in Qatar? Your questions answered (Athletic)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/08/22/qatar-world-cup-controversy-continues-60-migrant-workers-arrested-protesting-dire-conditions/