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In an effort to get ready for the next football World Cup in November, Qatar has deported migrant employees who protested not being paid their pay. On August 14, at least 60 employees protested in front of the Al Bandary International Group offices in Doha; some, according to reports, hadn’t received pay in seven months.
Unknown numbers of protestors were detained, and some of them were deported. Deportees, according to the administration, “breached security laws.”
Since Qatar was given the World Cup in 2010, which sparkled a wave of stadium and infrastructure construction around the country. The country has been under a lot of criticism due to its treatment of migrant workers.
The organising body refuses to comment, therefore it is unknown if the personnel were involved in World Cup preparations.
However, the Qatari government confirmed in a statement to the BBC that a handful of employees who took part in the unusual protest in Doha had been imprisoned for violating public security rules.
A minority of individuals “who failed to remain peaceful” are understood to face deportation, and rights organisations claim some have already departed the country.
The impacted employees would receive all back pay for salary and perks, according to the Qatari government.
The Al Bandary group was already being investigated by the government for failing to pay its employees, according to the government, and more action is being taken now that a payment deadline has passed.
Equidem, a human rights group with a focus on labour rights, brought attention to the situation of the workers.
Has everyone been deceived by Qatar and FIFA, asked the organization’s leader Mustafa Qadri to the BBC?
The World Cup being held in Qatar, a nation that still imprisons people for speaking their opinions, is not morally problematic, they have been telling us.
According to Mr. Qadri, the workers who demonstrated were from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Egypt, and the Philippines.
According to Mr. Qadri, several police officers reminded the demonstrators that if they can strike in the heat, they can sleep without air conditioning as well. Mr. Qadri has been in contact with a number of the workers.
“Can you imagine how frightened the employees must have been to demonstrate in temperatures of 42 degrees? They simply want to be compensated for their labour; they are not political actors, Mr. Qadri continued.