Our workers have made great sacrifices to be part of the Middle East's first FIFA World Cup 2022™. They have left their homes and families behind in hopes of building a brighter future for themselves in Qatar. The process of migrating can be daunting for workers, making them vulnerable to unethical practices by unscrupulous recruitment agencies.
Charging recruitment fees is illegal under Qatar's labour law. Our Workers' Welfare Standards also prohibit contractors from charging workers recruitment fees. This malpractice affects millions of migrant workers across the globe, including workers on the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ projects, pushing them into debt even before they have migrated overseas.
Workers' Welfare & Labour Rights has been committed to combatting this unethical practice, ensuring our workers are protected right from the early stages of recruitment. While reviewing tenders, we strive to work only with contractors who comply with ethical recruitment of workers and work with recruiters approved by Qatar's Ministry of Labour (MoL).
In 2017, Workers' Welfare & Labour Rights launched the Universal Reimbursement Scheme that requires contractors to reimburse workers their recruitment fees, if they are unable to prove they hired them ethically. Our goal was to transfer the burden of proof away from workers and on to the employers. This initiative is helping to free our workers from financial burden, enabling them to better support their families back home. Since 2020, contractors are required to produce MoL-attested commitment letters, which has further reinforced our scheme.
A majority of our contractors have committed to reimbursing workers and are now extending the scheme to workers not involved on tournament-related projects. With their continuous support, we are able to drive our legacy forward in establishing best practices in workers' welfare.
Workers' stories
Our reimbursement scheme is making a difference in the lives of our workers. Below is their story.
Figures are as of 31 December 2022.
Figures in videos are accurate and consistent with the period of filming.
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