Introduction of issue related to worker’s death
The issue is how can Qatar be so irresponsible and unethical
towards the migrant workers?
As per Ira Boudway of Bloomberg Business week, The FIFA 2022
World Cup could be deadly for the workers of Qatar. The death rate may be
high due to the extreme hot weather of Qatar and due to the irresponsible
people involved in the management. For the preparation of the FIFA 2022 World Cup,
numerous migrant workers are working in Qatar. The place where the immigrant workers
live is filthy, dangerous and cramped. This is the situation even without the
pressure of the world spotlight. It has been found out that hundreds of men die every
year due to accidents, heart attacks and suicides and their bodies are being
shipped back to the respective countries from the United Arab Emirates. Though
it has been argued that none of the workers have died in building the venues
for the World Cup as construction has not been started yet. (Boudway, 2014)
As per Owen Gibson of the Guardian paper, the death of almost
964 workers from India, Nepal and Bangladesh has been reported due to fall,
suicide or cardiac arrest. Qatar government admits almost 1000 fatalities in
migrant workers. (Gibson, 2014)
However, various international reporters have proved that
numerous deaths have already taken place but the boss of the Qatar 2022 committee
has claimed that there has not been a single death or injury in the FIFA 2022
World Cup project. It was been found out that more than 450 Indian workers who
were working in Qatar have died in 2 years. (Reuters, 2014)
Examine the ethical issues involved and the different ways of looking at the problem –
The biggest ethical issue that is involved in the said
case is that most of the officials are not ready to admit that numerous workers
have died during construction. According to them, no construction worker has died or has been killed during the preparation of the FIFA 2022 World Cup. This proves that
either they are unaware about the situation or they do not care about the lives
of the immigrant workers. As per them it is a rubbish report and they defended
themselves by saying that it is just not possible to have 400 deaths while just
digging holes in the ground. (Newman, 2014) .
The International Trade Union Confederation has actually criticized Qatar for its
treatment towards the migrant workers. The death issue has resulted in fear
that the problem could worsen as the pressure rises and the actual construction
work starts.
Qatar employs the Kafala labor system which controls the lives of
immigrant workers. Immigrant workers generally take a loan from Sponsor Company
in order to cover the cost of living and travelling and in return the sponsor
has the right to control the lives of the workers and their right to leave
Qatar. As per, Sharan Burrow who is the general secretary of the International
Trade Union confederation (ITUC), this condition will result in almost 4,000
deaths during the construction of the World Cup venues. It was due to pressure
from human rights organizations and the International Trade Union Confederation that
Qatar announced that it will make amendments in its labor laws and would remove
the employer’s control over the exit of the immigrant workers. This proves that
due to pressure Qatar would take some steps and not due to moral
ethics. (Boudway, 2014)
As per a daily article by Tony Manfred, there are 14 reasons
why Qatar’s FIFA 2022 World Cup is going to be disastrous and a few of
the major reasons are –
- Human rights agencies estimate 4,000 workers will die during the construction of infrastructure related to the FIFA World Cup
- There is huge bribery. This can be known from how a 10 year old daughter of one of the FIFA official received $ 3.4 million after voting
- Jack Warner who was a FIFA official was paid $ 2 million for FIFA voting
- The Emirate is allegedly using modern day slavery in order to build infrastructure
- It was announced by Qatar that FIFA would be hosted and played in summer but the temperature of Qatar goes to 120 degrees and thus the tournament would be played in winter
- Huge investment would be done i. e. almost $ 200 billion
- There is no stadium for the World Cup which is ready in Qatar
- Futuristic air conditioned stadiums which Qatar had promised to build are not possible actually
- Playing it in winter would screw up European leagues totally
In order to deal with the death issue, Qatar in the month of
February was forced to actually establish a worker’s welfare standards document.
The said document includes greater scrutiny of the worker’s payment, their
accommodations and other related issues. It was announced that the issue is
been taken seriously by the Qatar authorities and it was instructed to adopt
the highest standards for workers’ welfare. The officials also said that for Qatar,
human rights and security is the top priority and the Emirate aims to work
closely with every section of the society so that each person gets equal
economic, political and social rights. Qatar has adopted efficient methods as
well as a solid partnership for proper human security for its people. (Thomas, 2014)
Give your own position and explain why –
After looking at the various aspects, according to me, Qatar
authority has been careless and is behaving in an unethical manner in relation
to the lives of the migrant workers working for the FIFA 2022 World Cup. Strict
actions need to be taken by the Qatar government and it should also try to
adopt the recommendations given by international law firm named DLA Pipers as
far as possible. The recommendations given by DLA Pipers include
recommendations related to recruitment, the Kafala sponsorship system, accommodation,
wages, contracts, health and safety, freedom of association, inspection, and
access to justice. (Gibson, 2014)
The issue of human rights and welfare should be considered
as a corner-stone for any country and thus measures to deal with the same
should be taken as early as possible. The country should provide full support
in ensuring that the rights of the individual are not hampered. (Thomas, 2014)
Conclusion
One thing that is clear from the above issue is Qatar does
not have stable politics and they seem to be behaving like a teenager or even
younger who tried to tease the experienced and the specialist in any field. I am
sure that they could over-run the FIFA 2022 World Cup and thus it should not be
hosted in Qatar especially because it is a country where they have not even
experienced such large events in their life time. Looking at this it would be
much better if FIFA hosting is taken from them by law especially if we
consider the construction workers’ deaths.
The issue can be dealt with if proper security measures are
taken and this is possible only when strict and clear rules and regulations
related to worker’s safety and accommodation is taken care of. Qatar needs to
adopt the DLA Piper recommendations as early as possible.
Bibliography
Boudway, I. (2014, May 14). The 2022 FIFA World
Cup Could Be Deadly for Qatar's Migrant Workers. Retrieved May 15, 2014,
from Bloomberg BusinessWeek: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-14/the-2022-fifa-world-cup-could-be-deadly-for-qatars-migrant-workers
Gibson, O. (2014, May
14). Qatar government admits almost 1,000 fatalities among migrant workers.
Retrieved May 15, 2014, from theguardian: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/14/qatar-admits-deaths-in-migrant-workers
Manfred, T. (2014,
April 21). 14 Reasons Why The Qatar World Cup Is Going To Be A Disaster.
Retrieved May 15, 2014, from Business insider:
http://www.businessinsider.in/14-Reasons-Why-The-Qatar-World-Cup-Is-Going-To-Be-A-Disaster/articleshow/34066735.cms
Newman, L. (2014, May
14). Qatar World Cup Official Denies Death of Workers. Retrieved May
15, 2014, from
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2063224-qatar-world-cup-official-denies-death-of-workers
Reuters. (2014, May
14). No workers have died on World Cup projects, says Qatar. Retrieved
May 15, 2014, from
https://au.sports.yahoo.com/news/article/-/23490057/no-workers-have-died-on-world-cup-projects-says-qatar/
Thomas, B. (2014, May
14). "Not a single death" on projects, says Qatar 2022 boss.
Retrieved May 15, 2014, from arabian business.com:
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/-not-single-death-on-projects-says-qatar-2022-boss-550253.html
