DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Qatar has launched an office protection investigation into the death of a worker, Qatari officials said Thursday (Dec. 8) after learning that a Filipino man died at an education site during soccer’s World Cup, marked by controversy over migrant workers’ appeal.
Nasser Al Khater, chief executive of the 2022 World Cup in Doha, told Reuters one had died, without elaborating, and said “death is a natural component of life” as he offered condolences to his family.
Online sports publication The Athletic reported Wednesday that a Filipino hired to fix lighting fixtures in a parking lot at Sealine Resort, the educational site of the Saudi national team, died after “slipping off a ramp while walking next to the vehicle and fell headfirst. “against concrete. “
Citing several anonymous sources, he said the twist of fate happened at the World Cup, but did not specify when.
The station did not respond to a Reuters query.
“If the investigation concludes that safety protocols were not followed, the company will face legal action and severe monetary sanctions,” a Qatari government official said in a statement.
“The rate of work-related injuries has decreased in Qatar since strict protection and fitness criteria were introduced and enforcement strengthened,” the official said.
Qatar has been under increasing scrutiny through human rights teams since winning the right to host the World Cup in 2010 for its remedy for migrant workers, who make up the majority of the Persian Gulf state’s population.
The tournament, the first to be held in the Middle East, where countries have also been criticised for migrant workers’ rights, has been embroiled in controversy with some football stars and a European official criticizing Qatar’s human rights record, adding about work, LGBT people and women. . rights.
Qatar’s World Cup organizers, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legate, said in a statement that they were not involved in Qatar’s investigation because “the deceased (worked) as a contractor, and not under the duty of the SC. “
The number of work-related deaths in Qatar is disputed.
Britain’s Guardian reported last year that at least 6,500 migrant workers, many of them working on World Cup projects, had died in Qatar since winning the right to host the event, according to the newspaper’s calculations of official documents.
In response, Qatar said the number of deaths was proportional to the length of the migrant workforce and included many white-collar workers, adding that each and every life lost a tragedy. The SC said 3 work-related and 37 non-work-related deaths. related deaths occurred in projects related to the World Cup.
“Death is an herbal component of life, whether in paintings or while you sleep,” Khater said, expressing sadness over reporters’ questions about The Athletic’s report.
“We are in the middle of the World Cup, and we have a successful World Cup. And is that something you need to communicate now? He said. – Rappler. com