London- Hotels in Qatar must make fundamental changes to ensure the rights of expatriate workers ahead of the country's hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, said Sarah Burashed, a researcher at International for Human Rights Policies.
The hospitality sector in Qatar which will receive the national teams and an estimated one million visitors to the World Cup should ensure that their ex-patriate workers are fully protected from any abuses or violations including significant improvements to their living conditions, stressed the London-based think tank.
Despite Qatar's labor reforms, some aspects of the kafala sponsorship system still exist allowing the abuse of migrant workers in the hotel and tourism sector.
ImpACT pointed out that despite Qatar's labor reforms, some aspects of the kafala sponsorship system still exist allowing the abuse of migrant workers in the hotel and tourism sector.
ImpACT found inadequate protection for workers in hotels, including well-known hotel brands, from discrimination, wages based on nationality, exorbitant recruitment fees, and being locked by employers into jobs through fear and intimidation.
Interviews with workers in selected hotels in Qatar, revealed to ImpACT that migrant workers were subjected to breaches in their contracts, and some were forced to pay thousands of dollars to get or even continue in their jobs. They also felt unable to change their jobs, despite the Qatari authorities cancelling the requirement for a No Objection certificate for employment.
Top hotel brands have confirmed that the majority of their workers in Qatar who applied to change jobs did do so, but workers interviewed by ImpACT complained that they faced many practical obstacles. Some were too afraid to apply for another job because they believed that their employer would interfere and have them arrested and/or deported.
In addition it was believed by some that they had to complete their current contract to enable them to change jobs. This is not a requirement of the new law in Qatar which simply states that the worker must only complete their notice.
ImpACT reports that hotel workers hired by security and employed through recruitment companies suffered more arbitrary conditions. Although wearing the hotel brand's uniform as those directly employed, their working and living conditions were charatcterised by employment abuses such as delayed wages, retention of passports, or working overtime at standard rates.
Qatar relies on about 2 million migrant workers, constituting some 95% of the country's workforce. Many work in the fields of construction, services and hospitaility for the stadiums, hotels and restaurants, transport and infrastructure for the World Cup.
Qatar pledged in 2017 to abolish the kalafa sponsorship system for migrant workers, but other measures still offer employers unregulated power and control over migrant workers.
Before kick-off in the World Cup, the Qatari authorities should exert more efforts to protect the rights of migrant workers
There are still shortcomings in Government policies that need to be addressed, particularly in the hospitality sector. And with the start of the FIFA World Cup scheduled for November 2022, Qatar is expected to recruit thousands of additional workers in these sectors, with the announcement of the development of 100 new hotels with an estimated 26,000 additional hotel rooms to meet anticipated demand.
ImpACT stresses that hotel workers who will play a major role in Qatar's hosting of the World Cup, deserve scrutiny of their conditions of employment – restrictions on their ability to change jobs, living conditions, and wage discrimination.
Before kick-off in the World Cup, the Qatari authorities should exert more efforts to protect the rights of migrant workers by, for example, wage protection ,and ensuring compliance, non-discriminatory regulation and offering access to remedies in line with the International Labor Organization guidelines.
ImpACT International for Human Rights Policies concludes that government reforms taken in Qatar alone do not automatically translate into improvements to the working conditions of migrant workers,. These require strict monitoring and a regulatory environment that ensures employed compliance with the law.