The number of workers killed in Qatar during preparations for the World Cup was “400 to 500”, significantly higher than previously announced, a Qatari official admitted.
Hassan al-Tawadi, secretary-general of Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Heritage, made statements during an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, according to The Associated Press.
Al-Tawadi’s comments could heighten criticism from human rights groups over the cost to the country’s migrant workers to host the first-ever World Cup in the Middle East, with $200 billion (€19.3 billion) spent on stadiums, metro lines and new infrastructure necessary for the tournament.
The Supreme Committee and the government of Qatar have not yet responded to the AP’s request for comment on Monday regarding Al-Tawadi’s remarks.
In an interview, excerpts of which have already been published online by Piers Morgan, a British journalist asks Al-Thawady: “What is the honest, absolutely real number of migrant workers who have died as a result of the work they do for the benefit of society? World Cup? Football, to the fullest?
“Estimates are around 400, between 400 and 500,” Al-Tawadi replied.
“I don’t have an exact figure. It was discussed,” the official said.
However, this figure has not been publicly discussed before. The reports of the Supreme Committee for the period from 2014 to the end of 2021 include only the number of deaths of workers involved in the construction and reconstruction of stadiums that will host the World Cup this Monday.
The total number of deaths released by the Qatari government was 40. These figures include 37 incidents that local authorities describe as non-work related incidents such as heart attacks and three workplace incidents. Another report also separately figures the death of a worker due to the novel coronavirus during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since FIFA awarded the tournament to Qatar in 2010, the country has taken some steps to review recruiting practices. This included the abolition of the so-called “kafala” employment system, which tied workers to their employers, who could decide whether workers could leave their job or even the country.
Qatar has also set a minimum monthly wage of 1,000 Qatari riyals ($275 or €265) for workers and mandatory food and housing subsidies for workers who do not receive these benefits directly from their employers. He also updated his safety rules for workers to prevent fatalities.
“One death is another death. Pure and simple,” Al-Tawadi added in an interview.
Activists urged Doha to do more, especially when it comes to paying workers on time and protecting them from abuse by employers.
Al-Tawadi’s comment also again casts doubt on the credibility of reports by governments and private companies of injuries and deaths of workers in the Gulf States, whose buildings were built by workers from South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Mustafa Qadri, chief executive of Equidem Research, a consulting firm that has published reports on construction costs for migrant workers, said he was surprised by al-Tawadi’s remark.
‘For him to come now and say there are hundreds [de mortos], shocking. They have no idea what is going on,” Qadri told AP.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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