Brussels: Monday 31 May 2011 (ITUC OnLine): A new multimedia report uncovering the human cost of the huge migrant labour force in the Gulf States of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates is being launched today by the International Trade Union Confederation in Brussels.
The International Trade Union Confederation will be using the report to put pressure on FIFA and the Qatar 2022 World Cup, for which 12 stadiums are expected to be built over the next ten years.
“A huge migrant labour force, with very little rights, no access to any unions, very unsafe practices, and inhuman living conditions will be literally putting their lives on the line to deliver the 2022 World Cup,” Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation said today.
The report describes in very personal terms the working and living conditions of the mainly Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese workers in the gleaming cities of Doha and Dubai. These workers make up the majority of the population of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, but only as imported labour. With interviews of workers and human rights activists, the report also has vision of the living conditions of the workers in huge segregated mostly male townships.
“Just 6% of the working population of Qatar is Qatari – their economy and their ability to deliver the World Cup is totally dependent on severe exploitation of migrant labour, which we believe to be barely above forced labour conditions,” said Ambet Yuson, general secretary of the Building Workers International (BWI).
The ITUC and BWI are writing to FIFA President Sepp Blatter and Qatar’s FIFA delegate, construction magnate Mohamed bin Hammam, calling for the organization to explain how it is going to protect the hundreds of thousands of workers who will be subject to unsafe and unregulated working conditions on construction sites, with no independent unions or effective safety inspection. FIFA requires football manufacturers to respect workers’ rights in its licensing programme, but has no such standards for companies building World Cup venues.
The ITUC is also writing to the Labour Ministers of both Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to seek face-to-face meetings during the ILO Conference being held in Geneva.
To read the report, see:
http://www.ituc-csi.org/hidden-faces-of-the-gulf-miracle,9144.html
Nov 16 – International Day for Tolerance
“No more toleration of corruption!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations
against serious violations of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar. Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands
#Report Corruption #SearchPosts #TakePicturesVideos
November
Nov 2 – Intl Day to End Impunity for
Crimes Against Journalists
Nov 9 – World Science Day for Peace
and Development
Nov 16 – International Day for Tolerance
Nov 19 – World Toilet Day
Nov 20 – World Children’s Day
Nov 25 – Intl Day for the Elimination of
Violence Against Women
Monthly Observances:
Homes Safety Month
Filipino Values Month
National Rice Awareness Month
National Consciousness Month
for Punctuality and Civility
Environmental Awareness Month
National Children’s Month
Organic Agriculture Month
Weekly Observances:
Nov 19-25: Global Warming and
Climate Change Consciousness Week
Nov 23-29: National Girls’ Week
Population and Development Week
Nov 25 – Dec 12: Social Welfare Week
18-Day Campaign to End
Violence against Women
Week 2: Week 3: Drug Abuse Prevention
and Control Week
Last Week: Safety and Accident
Prevention Week
Daily Observances:
Last Saturday: Career Executive Service
Day
Nov 19: National Child Health Day
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
