Qatar’s Ministry of Labor takes action against company after journalist’s investigation uncovers professional misconduct – Doha News

A secret investigation by a German filmmaker prompted the authorities to crack down on a company for non-payment of the salaries of its employees. A previous investigation by the same journalist revealed disturbing details about the living conditions of many migrant workers.

Qatar Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs [MADLSA] filed a lawsuit against a company for violating the rights of its workers following a journalistic investigation.

In his latest investigation, filmed in Qatar during the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup, German journalist Benjamin Best revealed that a Nepalese migrant worker working on a Corniche project with a number of his colleagues had not received salary for four months.

The employees worked for the Gulf House Company for Trading and Contracting in Doha.

“As the journalistic work demands, I confronted Ashghal [Qatari Public Works Authority] with these allegations. The Qatari Ministry of Labor confirmed my findings in a subsequent response, ”the reporter told Doha News on Thursday.

In a statement to Best, MADLSA said its wage protection system had already alerted authorities to the late payment and responded by fining the company and barring it from ministry services.

These services include hiring more workers.

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“The company will remain on the banned list until all workers have been paid. The ministry also warned of other measures if the problem is not resolved, including a permanent blacklist, ”read the statement MADLSA sent to the journalist.

Best was previously in Doha in 2019 to film his award-winning documentary titled “Trapped in Qatar” in which he revealed the poor living conditions many migrant workers building multiple stadiums for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The documentary, broadcast by German broadcaster WDR, was followed by statements by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, in which he admitted the presence of violations of workers’ standards.

Best met employees who lived in housing described as unliveable and overheard them complain about how employers withheld their rights, including their wages.

“Every day we eat water and bread. Without money, we can’t do anything else. Month after month, our situation worsens. I don’t know how long I will be able to do it, ”said Dil Prasad, a Nepalese worker at Best at the time.

As part of the 2019 documentary, the families of the workers were also interviewed in their home countries, where they complained about the hardships they face due to their husbands’ late payments from their company, Tawasol.

The company was a subcontractor for the Al Bayt Stadium, where the opening match and the final of the Arab Cup took place this year.

FIFA promised at the time to investigate the WDR allegations while stressing that the violations were taking place in areas unrelated to the stadium construction sites.

“We are aware of information that the company TAWASOL – a subcontractor in the construction of the Al Bayt stadium – violated the standards for the workers,” read a statement, shared by german media in 2019.

The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Inheritance [SC], the host body for the Qatar World Cup, also confirmed that 23 Tawasol employees have received their unpaid wages and have said they will continue their work.

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Room for change despite the reform

Unlike other former host countries, Qatar has been in the global spotlight, mostly by Western media, since securing the right to host the first-ever FIFA World Cup more than ten years ago. year.

The topics of migrant rights, allegations of corruption and anti-LGBTQ laws have been the headlines of most of Qatar’s international media coverage, despite the implementation of vigorous labor reforms by the Gulf country.

The reports also addressed loopholes in Qatar’s labor laws that expose workers to exploitative practices by their employers.

One such report was published in November by Amnesty International, titled “Reality check 2021”. The report claims that “old abusive practices have resurfaced” in Qatar despite its wave of labor reforms, which included the dismantling of the controversial kafala sponsorship system.

The Qatari authorities responded, noting that the report did not mention the progress made by the Gulf State, while also noting that they were aware that there was still work to be done.

“Qatar has never shied away from acknowledging that its system of work is still a work in progress. The government is committed to engaging in a collaborative and constructive manner with international partners and critics to further improve standards for all migrant workers in Qatar, ”the statement from the Government Communications Office reads. . [GCO].

Among the main reforms undertaken by Qatar was the introduction of the region’s first-ever non-discriminatory minimum wage, under which employers must pay allowances of at least QAR 300 for food and QAR 500 for housing in addition to the minimum monthly base salary of QAR 1,000. .

Employers who pay their staff less than the minimum wage face one year in prison and a fine of QAR 10,000.

Qatar has also significantly strengthened surveillance at all levels to detect violations, enacting faster sanctions and further strengthening the capacity of labor inspectors.

So far, dozens of companies have been sued by authorities for breaking the new laws.

More recently, Qatar’s Ministries of Labor and Health signed an agreement to cooperate on data collection to better address work-related injuries and fatalities and help improve safety on construction sites.

It was a response to reports expressing concerns about the deaths of migrant workers and the lack of rigorous data collection on such incidents.

On Wednesday, an official in the workers’ social protection department announced that around 82.35 million QAR had been paid by contractors to thousands of workers as part of a revolutionary plan for the SC to combat the illegal practice of charging recruitment fees.

In addition, and as a testament to the legacy of Qatar 2022 in action, 11 SC contractors have extended the program to cover 18,066 non-SC workers, according to Mohamed Al-Hajri, the department’s director of compliance and audit. well-being of workers.

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