Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper) A leading MEP has given a guarded welcome to a new report on labour law reform in Qatar which will shortly host the World Cup.
Tomasz Frankowski was responding to a report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) which looked into the whole spectrum of labour laws in the country. It praised what it calls “significant” migrant workers’ reforms in the Middle Eastern country.
The country had previously been criticised by some for its record on workers’ rights, including those involved in the construction of stadia for the football tournament which starts later this month. Frankowski, EPP Group Coordinator in Culture and Education committee and Co-chair of the Sports Group, gave an exclusive interview on this website.
Reacting to the report the Polish MEP, himself a former footballer, said. “The World Cup in Qatar will start soon.
“While this should be cause for a great celebration of sport and football, we all know that the organisation of this event has come at a high cost and has elicited much criticism, especially when it comes to the labour right of workers.
“I’ve read with great interest the ILO report on this subject and its conclusions. “
The MEP, the Polish league’s 3rd highest scorer of all time, added, “As a co-chair of the Sports Group, I acknowledge the progress that has been achieved with regard to labour rights in Qatar, however, I would like to have some guarantees on the continuation of this effort following the conclusion of the World Cup”.
The ILO report covers progress in the labour market sector on the Qatar government’s priorities, based on “four pillars”.
These, says the report, are:
* Labour Market and Labour Migration Governance;
* Enforcement of Labour Law and Access to Justice;
* Workers’ Voice and Social Dialogue and
* International Cooperation and Exchange of Experience
The extensive report also covers what it calls “cooperation with the football world.”
On this, the ILO said it had engaged with a number of the entities organizing or participating in the World Cup, including FIFA, the UEFA Working Group on Human Rights, national football associations and sponsors.
This included providing briefings on the status of the labour reforms and also providing support to selected football associations and sponsors in their due diligence efforts with regard to the hotels where they will be staying during the tournament.
The report says, “This complements the comprehensive audits and the follow-up action carried out previously.
“A number of the football associations have also carried out their own checklists, conducted site visits and organized briefings with the trade unions and NGOs in their home countries.
“Many of the football associations and sponsors are conducting due diligence for the first time and will carry this experience into future sporting events. The ILO encouraged football associations and sponsors to use their leverage as customers to support the worker-management committees as part of their due diligence efforts, but also to support the reforms in the longer term by leaving a legacy.
“Several football associations did champion the importance of such social dialogue as a means to identify and resolve issues; encouraged the hotels to participate in the training which has been organized and met with these worker and management representatives when in Doha.”
It goes on, “In 2021, the Centre for Sports and Human Rights (CSHR) also circulated a starter toolkit for football associations with questions they can raise with their partners in Qatar (mainly hotels and adjacent services such as transportation, security)
“The toolkit has been based on promoting fair recruitment and employment: A guidance tool for hotels in Qatar developed as a part of this technical cooperation programme. The Doha Dialogue on Sports and Human Rights, organized by the CSHR, brought together a wide range of stakeholders from NGOs, trade unions, governments, sporting institutions, sponsors, and others.
“It was co-convened by the ILO, OHCHR, ITUC, IOE and the World Innovation Summit on Health.”
