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Rights group Human Rights Watch raised concern on Sunday over Qatari government clients’ and other major businesses’ failure to pay contractors on time for projects, leaving migrant workers unpaid.
The findings, detailed in a press release, reveal that systemic payment delays at the top of contracting chains, including by government entities, create a “domino effect” of wage theft and leave migrant workers at the bottom without their salaries. The findings are based on interviews with workers and subcontractors, as well as a review of contracts and correspondence, documenting delays of up to a year on payments contractually due within 45 days.
Notwithstanding Qatar’s Civil Code allows workers to claim payment directly from a non-paying client, and the country has ratified International Labour Organization conventions against forced labor, enforcement is weak. This allows clients to withhold payments while subcontractors, lacking financial reserves, pass the crisis down to their workers.
Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, stated:
The ILO’s Protection of Wages Convention (No. 95), which Qatar has also ratified, explicitly requires that wages be paid regularly and directly to the worker, and prohibits unauthorized deductions. The so-called “pay when paid” model fundamentally undermines this principle, making wages contingent on commercial disputes far removed from the worker. The delay and non-payment of wages, especially when workers are left with no means to support themselves or return home, can create conditions of compelled labor that align with the ILO’s definition of forced labor.
The report’s documentation identifies the “pay when paid” model as a structural flaw enabling client impunity, and the resulting power imbalance as the root cause of prolonged abuse of migrant workers in Qatar. This is also in violation of the labour law and business guiding principles identified by the United Nations, which establish that all business enterprises have a responsibility to respect human rights, by avoiding wage theft through their own activities, and addressing such impacts when they occur. The Principles further state that businesses should seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts directly linked to their operations by their business relationships, which squarely applies to the client-subcontractor chain.
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The findings, detailed in a press release, reveal that systemic payment delays at the top of contracting chains, including by government entities, create a “domino effect” of wage theft and leave migrant workers at the bottom without their salaries. The findings are based on interviews with workers and subcontractors, as well as a review of contracts and correspondence, documenting delays of up to a year on payments contractually due within 45 days.
Notwithstanding Qatar’s Civil Code allows workers to claim payment directly from a non-paying client, and the country has ratified International Labour Organization conventions against forced labor, enforcement is weak. This allows clients to withhold payments while subcontractors, lacking financial reserves, pass the crisis down to their workers.
Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, stated:
Consequently, the organization holds that these client companies, including government agencies, are complicit in wage theft and may be contributing to forced labor, as defined by the ILO Forced Labour Convention (No. 29). It calls for the extension of liability for unpaid wages throughout the subcontracting chain and for authorities to rigorously enforce existing laws.
The ILO’s Protection of Wages Convention (No. 95), which Qatar has also ratified, explicitly requires that wages be paid regularly and directly to the worker, and prohibits unauthorized deductions. The so-called “pay when paid” model fundamentally undermines this principle, making wages contingent on commercial disputes far removed from the worker. The delay and non-payment of wages, especially when workers are left with no means to support themselves or return home, can create conditions of compelled labor that align with the ILO’s definition of forced labor.
The report’s documentation identifies the “pay when paid” model as a structural flaw enabling client impunity, and the resulting power imbalance as the root cause of prolonged abuse of migrant workers in Qatar. This is also in violation of the labour law and business guiding principles identified by the United Nations, which establish that all business enterprises have a responsibility to respect human rights, by avoiding wage theft through their own activities, and addressing such impacts when they occur. The Principles further state that businesses should seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts directly linked to their operations by their business relationships, which squarely applies to the client-subcontractor chain.
The post Rights group raises concern over unpaid labourers in Qatar appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.