Malaysian company in World Cup project cited for labour abuse

Ongoing construction work at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar. - Reuters

PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian company has been implicated in claims of abuse of migrant workers employed for a Qatar 2022 World Cup stadium project.

Amnesty International in its report The Ugly Side of the Beautiful Game alleged that the workers were subjected to abuses like passport confiscation and dirty and crammed accommodations.

The organisation's Gulf migrant rights researcher Mustafa Qadri said in a Skype press conference on Thursday that 24 of the 98 men who worked on the Khalifa Stadium Project were employed directly by the Malaysian company.

The remaining 74 were employed under two labour supply outfits contracted by the Malaysian company.

Mustafa said the abuses included workers having to pay large fees to recruiters in their home country, being deceived over the pay or type of work offered, unpaid salaries, employers not giving or renewing residence permits and workers being threatened for complaining about their conditions.

Mustafa also claimed that the Malaysian company had failed to investigate the abuses that were taking place on the project.

"Even though they gave two very detailed letters which we have provided on our website, clearly the most serious labour practices have not really been addressed," he said.

Amnesty's latest report on migrant labour in Qatar is the first in-depth study to specifically focus on the living and working conditions of foreign workers building stadiums for the 2022 World Cup.

For the 80-page report, Amnesty interviewed 234 blue-collar workers.