French construction firm uses forced labor in Qatar: NGO
French construction giant Vinci faces allegations of using forced labor on building projects in Qatar, which is preparing to host the 2022 World Cup.
French prosecutor Catherine Denis said on Saturday that a preliminary investigation has been launched into the claim, which has been put forward by the non-governmental lobby group Sherpa.
The NGO has filed a claim in a French court against Vinci and its Qatari subsidiary QDVC for “forced labor,” “servitude” and “concealment.”
“The on-site investigations found the use by these companies of various threats to force vulnerable people into scandalous working and living conditions for a paltry salary,” Sherpa said.
The group added that the company has confiscated the workers’ passports and threatened them not to claim their right to better working conditions, housing, or seek to quit or change their employer.
The construction firm has dismissed all the allegations, filing a defamation claim in Paris against Sherpa in response.
Denis, meanwhile, said a wider query involving investigations in Qatar is possible to be subsequently launched if necessary.
Migrant workers account for nearly 75 percent of Qatar’s tiny population of nearly 2.2 million, but many of them have been employed under the so-called “kafalah” system, which stipulates that laborers cannot change jobs or leave Qatar without permission from their sponsor.
The International Trade Union Confederation said in June 2014 that up to 4,000 migrant workers could die in construction accidents in Qatar by 2022.
The resource-rich kingdom promised last year to improve workplace safety, housing, and pay and working conditions for its large number of foreign workers after rights groups pressured world football governing body FIFA to review its decision to award Qatar the hosting of the 2022 World Cup.
MR/HJL/SS
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