Dubai, United Arab Emirates –
Qatar recently detained at least 60 foreign workers who protested being left without pay for months and deported some of them, an advocacy group said just three months before Doha hosts the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The move comes as Qatar faces intense international scrutiny of its labor practices ahead of the tournament. Like other Arab Gulf countries, Qatar relies heavily on foreign workers. The workers’ protest a week ago – and Qatar’s response to it – could fuel concerns further.
The head of a labor consultancy investigating the incident said the arrests cast new doubts on Qatar’s pledges to improve the treatment of workers. “Is this really coming to light?” asked Mustafa Qadri, Managing Director of the Equidem Group.
In a statement to The Associated Press on Sunday night, the Qatari government acknowledged that “a number of protesters have been arrested for violating public safety laws”. She declined to give any information about the arrests or deportations.
Video footage released online showed about 60 workers protesting furiously over their salaries as they protested outside the Doha offices of Al Bandary International Group on August 14, a conglomerate that includes construction, real estate, hotels, hospitality and other ventures. Some of the protesters have not received their salaries in seven months, Equidem said.
The protesters blocked an intersection on Doha’s C Ring Road in front of the Al Shoumoukh Tower. The footage matched well-known details of the street, including several giant portraits of the ruling Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, looking down at passers-by.
The privately held Al Bandary International Group did not respond to requests for comment, and a phone number registered in their name failed to connect after multiple call attempts.
The Qatari government acknowledged that the company had not paid salaries and that its labor ministry will pay “all delayed salaries and benefits” to those affected.
“The company was already under investigation by the authorities for non-payment of wages before the incident, and further action is now being taken after missing a deadline to pay outstanding wages,” the government said.
Qadri said police later arrested the protesters and held them at a detention center, where some reported being in sweltering heat without air conditioning. The temperature in Doha reached about 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 degrees Fahrenheit) this week.
Qadri described how the police told those arrested that they can sleep without air conditioning if they can strike in the hot weather.
A detained worker who called Equidem from the detention center reported seeing up to 300 of his colleagues there from Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Nepal and the Philippines. He said some were paid salaries after the protest while others were not. His statements could not be confirmed.
Like other Arab Gulf states in the past, Qatar has deported demonstrating foreign workers and tied residence visas to employment. According to Washington-based advocacy group Freedom House, the right to form unions remains tightly controlled and only available to Qataris, as does the country’s restricted right of assembly.
Qatar, a small, energy-rich nation on the Arabian Peninsula, is home to the state-funded satellite news channel Al Jazeera. However, expression of opinion in the country remains tightly controlled. Last year Qatar detained and later deported a Kenyan security official who has written and spoken publicly about the plight of the country’s migrant workers.
Since FIFA awarded the tournament to Qatar in 2010, the country has taken a number of steps to overhaul the country’s employment practices. This includes the abolition of the so-called kafala employment system, which ties workers to their employers, who can decide whether they are allowed to leave their jobs or even the country.
Qatar has also introduced a monthly minimum wage of 1,000 Qatari riyals (US$275) for workers and requires food and housing allowances for workers who do not receive them directly from their employers.
Activists like Qadri have urged Doha to do more, particularly when it comes to ensuring workers are paid on time and protected from abusive employers.
“Have we all been duped by Qatar in recent years?” Qadri asked, suggesting that recent reforms may have been “a cover” for the authorities to allow prevailing labor practices to continue.
The World Cup begins this November in Qatar.
Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates contributed to this report.