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Minimum Wages for Migrant Workers
Much has already been said and written about the issue of migrant workers losing their lives. The exploitation of cheap labour from countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh and India is running amok as has been time and again highlighted by the media. Exploitation of such persons from the issuance of work papers to inhumane conditions of living in a foreign state have already been brought to light.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has called Qatar the state “A country without conscience” and there has been criticism of the “kafala” system as well. Christopher Ingraham of the Washington Post has outlined the number of migrant workers death which as of May 27 put at the number 964 as established by the Qatar government.
One of the proposals which can be implemented is the minimum wage for migrant workers coming to Qatar. As has been recently noted, Qatar has unveiled plans for labour reforms on May 14 in response to a review of a labor legislation by a British-based law firm, whose one of the recommendations is that of minimum wage for each category of construction worker.
The recommendations though are being criticised because of the red tape that’s involved and also due to lack of a definitive timeline for the implementation of such reforms. Seen as a step forward, but contradicted by drawbacks which dismiss the idea of the establishment of a union, the migrant worker still may not get the entitled benefits associated with such labor reforms.
For at the end of the day, the migrant worker is alien to his surroundings and the linguistic difficulties may force the worker in question to accept his current state, rather than better it.
Communication Channels
A win-win situation would be instead to offer translators and at least make the worker aware of what he is getting into. Communication will be more key than ever. The excuse of non-availability of resources doesn’t hold water, for Qatar is the richest country in the world blessed with abundant natural resources which the country possesses in the form of liquefied natural gas and other oil fields. Basically, the economic implementation of such a measure won’t be a hindrance to implementation.
Now in hindsight it seems, these measures could have been implemented much ahead of the World Cup bid as well. Sharon Burrow, the ITUC General Secretary, has vehemently criticised Qatar and believes that the country bullied its way in matters of labour reforms.
The point mainly being the promotion of modern day slavery which has been furthered by denying exit visas and confiscation of passports of the employees by the employers (construction companies), thus furthering the practice of the “kafala” system.
Being the richest country in the World, Qatar should instead use their economic muscle to set benchmarks in labour safety standards, thus setting an example for others to follow. Instead WC2022 should be viewed as a platform to exhibit their nation and champion the cause of labor reforms.
