KATHMANDU, Nepal–As many as 277 Nepali migrant workers lost their life in the past two years while toiling in the infrastructure for the 2022 FIFA World Cup to be held in Qatar, one of the lucrative job destinations for Nepali migrant workers.
Over two-thirds of those migrant workers died of heart attacks and huge accidents at work places. Altogether 1 97 Nepali workers succumb to major accidents in 2012, while the death figure of the workers was 185 in 2013. The Guardian has claimed that the Qatar government has hidden the number of Nepali deaths after doubt about the hosting of World Cup swelled.
Though under Secretary at the Labor Ministry of Qatar Hussein al Mullah claimed that 99 percent of the employers have employed the workers as per the laws, the Amnesty International (AI) in its report have revealed that many workers died of exertion.
‘Scores of migrant workers died of exertion due to more than 12 hours of daily work in the baking heat, dirty accommodation and congestion,’ the AI said in its latest report. With many human rights organizations criticized the Qatar for its cold-blooded behavior towards the workers; the Labor Ministry in Qatar claimed that it was dedicated to ensure the safety of the workers.
‘I also express commitment to ensure that the workers are employed in the right way,’ Mullah was quoted as saying by the publication. The labor unions in Qatar have been exerting the pressure Qatar should be deprived to organize the World Cup if the exploitation and suffering of migrant workers go unabated.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter stated that one cannot turn a blind eye to the exploitation of migrant workers in Qatar.
Qatar has been constructing infrastructure for the World Cup at the cost of US$ 137 billion. The International Trade Union Congress has speculated that 4,000 workers will die by the time construction is accomplished for the World Cup if the existing condition is not improved.