Qatar stadium workers to be given QR19m as repayment package in next two years

Qatar’s move to repay recruitment fees of over 30,000 blue collar workers by 2019 had met with widespread acclaim. 

Now, a little more details of the plan has emerged. It was announced that the country will pay approximately QR19m over the next two years to workers who are building the stadium for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, reported Gulf Times.

This is being paid as compensation for recruitment and hardship fees which may have been paid in the past.

The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) said contractors working on its projects will reimburse workers as part of a ‘Universal Payment’ system, reported Qatar Tribune.

The SC’s Workers’ Welfare Standards (WWS), the principles enshrined in all contracts relating to World Cup projects, prohibits the charging of recruitment fees. 

Many of SC’s contractors employ legacy workers hired before the introduction of the WWS, which the Universal Payment initiative is designed to address.
“All too often, the very people who’ve left their homes to provide for their families are the ones exploited. The SC and its contractors have agreed on a mechanism to ensure that our workers are reimbursed for the hardships they may’ve endured when coming to Qatar to work,” SC Secretary General Hassan Al Thawadi was quoted as saying by ESPN.

“The significance to reimburse workers who paid recruitment fees shouldn’t be underestimated. Unethical recruitment is a global issue and an area many countries all over the world struggle to manage.

“We’ve been steadfast in our belief that this World Cup can be a catalyst for change, both in Qatar and in other parts of the world. Recruitment fees is a hugely complex issue, yet the SC and several of our contractors have agreed on a mechanism to ensure that our workers are reimbursed for the hardships they may’ve endured when coming to Qatar to work,” Gulf Times quoted him as saying.

HBK, the main contractor of the Lusail Stadium, has agreed to compensate QR2.7m to 1,500 workers in the form of a monthly QR150 Special Project Allowance. 
This figure is expected to double in the next 12 months as the workforce increases.

Other contractors included are Larsen & Toubro (Al Rayyan Stadium), Nakheel (training sites/Aspire Turf Nursery) Petroserv (Doha Port Project) and OCPs Twelvers and Manforce.

The commitment by these contractors in 2017 resulted in 1,700 workers equivalent to 10% of the SC workforce receiving a guarantee of QR3m in reimbursements.
One main contractor and six OCPs across the SC portfolio of construction projects have committed to paying a further QR9m by the end of 2019.