Qatar refused to create a compensation fund for workers killed in the preparations for the 2022 World Cup

They had a resounding response. Qatar rejected NGO requests to create a compensation fund for workers killed or injured in the preparations for the 2022 World Cup, the organizing country’s Labor Minister told Agence France-Presse.

“This request (…) for a compensation campaign is a communication strategy,” Ali bin Samij Al Marri assured in the interview on Sunday.

According to the politician, Qatar already has a fund for dead or injured workers. He also claimed that the country was spending hundreds of millions of dollars on unpaid wages.

Who applied for the severance fund?

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch led calls for FIFA and Qatar to create a $440 million compensation fund for workers, an amount that is the equivalent of World Cup prize money.

The NGOs have regularly criticized the working conditions of the mobilized workers in the different works of the competition, scheduled in the rich emirate of the Gulf from November 20.

They also accuse Qatar of failing to properly report the number of deaths. The government rejects reports that thousands of people have died in accidents at construction sites or have had insufficient protection conditions during the hot months.

FIFA assured that there was a “continuous dialogue” on the merits, but in the government’s first public comment, Marri said the proposal was unfeasible.

“Every death is a tragedy”affirmed the Labor Minister, adding however that there is no “no criteria to create these funds.”

“Where are the victims, do they have the names of the victims, how can they get these figures?” I ask. Some international union leaders also said it would be too complicated to create and manage a new fund.

It should be noted that Qatar created a fund in 2018 to help workers who have not been paid, which according to the minister has disbursed 320 million dollars this year alone: “If there is a person entitled to compensation who has not received it, they should come forward and we will help them.”