Qatari official puts WC worker deaths at 400-500

A Qatari authoritative progressive successful the organisation of the country's World Cup has enactment the fig of idiosyncratic deaths related to the tourney "between 400 and 500" for the archetypal time, a fig drastically higher than immoderate different antecedently offered by Doha.

The remark by Hassan Al-Thawadi, the caput wide of Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, appeared to beryllium an off-the-cuff remark during an interview with British writer Piers Morgan.

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The remark threatened to renew disapproval by quality rights groups implicit the toll of hosting the Middle East's archetypal World Cup fixed the migrant workers who built much than $200 cardinal worthy of stadiums, metro lines and infrastructure needed for the tournament.

A connection connected behalf of a Qatari Supreme Committee spokesperson said connected Tuesday: "The Secretary General told Piers Morgan's 'Uncensored' programme that determination were 3 work-related deaths and 37 non-work related deaths connected the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy's projects.

"This is documented connected an yearly ground successful the SC's nationalist reporting and covers the 8 stadiums, 17 non-competition venues and different related sites nether the SC's scope.

"Separate quotes regarding figures notation to nationalist statistic covering the play of 2014-2020 for each work-related fatalities (414) nationwide successful Qatar, covering each sectors and nationalities."

In the interview, portions of which Morgan posted online, the writer asked Al-Thawadi: "What is the honest, realistic full bash you deliberation of migrant workers who died from -- arsenic a effect of enactment they're doing for the World Cup successful totality?"

"The estimation is astir 400, betwixt 400 and 500," Al-Thawadi responded. "I don't person the nonstop number. That's thing that's been discussed."

But that fig hasn't antecedently been discussed publically by Qatari officials. Reports from the Supreme Committee dating from 2014 to 2021 see lone the fig of deaths of workers progressive successful gathering and refurbishing the stadiums present hosting the World Cup.

Those released figures enactment the full fig of deaths astatine 40. They see 37 from what the Qataris picture arsenic non-work incidents specified arsenic bosom attacks and 3 from workplace incidents. One study besides separately lists a idiosyncratic decease from COVID-19 amid the pandemic.

Al-Thawadi pointed to those figures erstwhile discussing enactment connected stadiums successful the interview, earlier offering the decease toll of 400-500 for each the tourney infrastructure.

Since FIFA awarded the tourney to Qatar successful 2010, the state has taken steps to overhaul the country's employment practices. That includes eliminating its kafala employment system, which tied workers to their employers, who had accidental implicit whether they could permission their jobs oregon adjacent the country.

Qatar has besides adopted a minimum monthly wage of 1,000 Qatari riyals ($275) for workers and required nutrient and lodging allowances for employees not receiving those benefits straight from their employers. It has besides updated its worker-safety rules to forestall deaths.

"One decease is simply a decease excessively galore -- plain and simple," Al-Thawadi added successful the interview.

Activists person called connected Qatar to bash more, peculiarly erstwhile it comes to ensuring workers person their salaries connected clip and are protected from abusive employers. Al-Thawadi's remark besides renews questions connected the veracity of some authorities and backstage concern reporting connected idiosyncratic injuries and deaths crossed the Gulf Arab states, whose skyscrapers person been built by workers from South Asian nations specified arsenic India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Mustafa Qadri, the enforcement manager of Equidem Research, a labour consultancy that has published reports connected the toll of the operation connected migrant workers, said helium was amazed by Al-Thawadi's remark.

"For him present to travel and accidental determination is hundreds, it's shocking," Qadri told The Associated Press. "They person nary thought what's going on."