Latest news
Qatar 2022 organiser hires third party firm to audit workers’ welfare
The body overseeing the delivery of World Cup 2022 infrastructure in Qatar has appointed an independent third party monitor to inspect the welfare of construction workers.
Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) has appointed Impactt Ltd to audit the SC Workers’ Welfare Standards – a set of “enforceable principles and regulations” which are found in all contracts for World Cup infrastructure projects.
Regulations were updated in March 2016 – following consultation with contractors, FIFA and non-governmental organisations – to improve conditions for construction workers.
Requirements for contractors to pay workers in accordance with the Wage Protection System and the appointment of project worker welfare officers are part of the updated regulations.
The move was announced a week after the publication of a damning report put together by Amnesty International, which alleged a number of human rights abuses for migrant workers.
SC secretary general H. E. Hassan Al Thawadi said the agreement with Impactt was “in line with our continued commitment to making tangible progress on workers’ welfare”.
“We will keep improving on every step of our journey as we make sure our approach to workers’ welfare progress is transparent and our updated standards are effectively and stringently enforced throughout the entire supply chain and life cycle of our projects,” he added.
Rosey Hurst, director of Impactt, said: “Our approach is to put workers at the centre of everything we do, as we work to understand how and why labour standards abuses occur, to support remediation for any individual whose rights have been infringed and to build systems and practices to support decent jobs for workers now and in the future.”