FIFA may have to pay $440 million in compensation to workers

Amnesty International issued an appeal following allegations that FIFA too slow to prevent exploitation of migrant workers in the process of building infrastructure in preparation for the World Cup. Human rights organizations and many fan groups support this call.

“FIFA should set aside at least $440 million to provide remedy to hundreds of thousands of migrant workers suffering human rights abuses in Qatar,” Amnesty International’s report reads.

$440 million is almost equal to the total prize money that FIFA gives to the participating teams World Cup 2022. However, according to AFPit represents only a fraction of the $6 billion in revenue FIFA is expected to earn over the next four years, including most of it from the World Cup.

According to the allegations, many cases of labor abuse have taken place since 2010, when FIFA awarded the right to host the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. Hundreds of workers are said to have died during the construction of the stadiums. According to Amnesty International, FIFA handed the organizing rights to Qatar without asking for any improvement in labor protection.

Workers also raised issues of unpaid wages, illegal recruitment fees, stolen funds, as well as compensation for injuries and deaths. According to Amnesty International, only about 48,000 people have been reimbursed for recruitment fees, while migrant workers in Qatar amount to two million, mostly from South Asia.

FIFA said it was evaluating the program proposed by Amnesty International. They also emphasize that, in fact, the incidents involving a wide range of public infrastructure are not exclusive to the World Cup.

In the face of opposition from international organizations, since 2014 Qatar has implemented a number of initiatives to improve the living conditions of migrant workers. Since 2017, the country has gone a step further by introducing a minimum wage, reducing working hours in extreme heat conditions, and partially ending a system that forces migrant workers to seek permission from their employers. to change jobs or leave the country.

The 2022 World Cup will take place from November 21 to December 18, at eight stadiums in five cities of Qatar. According to the draw results, Qatar is in Group A with Netherlands, Senegal and Ecuador.

Thanh Quy (according to AFP)