Fifa wants 'fair conditions' quickly for Qatar's World Cup workers
• Sepp Blatter admits abuse of migrant workers is 'unacceptable'
• Union leader warns 2022 World Cup could move from Qatar
• Union leader warns 2022 World Cup could move from Qatar
Fifa has said "fair working conditions with a lasting effect must be
introduced quickly in Qatar" after Sepp Blatter admitted that widespread abuse of migrant workers was "unacceptable" following a meeting with international union leaders in Zurich.
World football's governing body has come under pressure to act in the wake of a Guardian investigation that revealed the scale of the abuse of migrant workers in Qatar who are building the infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup.
Blatter recently travelled to Doha to meet with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, and subsequently gave a press conference in which he said the country's rulers were "on the right track" in dealing with the issue.
But after meeting with Wolfgang Niersbach, president of the Confederation of German Trade Unions, and Michael Sommer, president of the International Trade Union Confederation, Fifa said that the trio had agreed that "fair working conditions must be introduced quickly, consistently and on a sustained basis in Qatar".
Sommer said the trade union movement would not rest until conditions were "fundamentally transformed" but that Fifa made it clear they took their "responsibilities on social policy seriously". He added: "Fifa recognises that its international significance brings a responsibility to influence decision-makers in Qatar.
"Qatar must guarantee the core labour standards of the International Labour Organisation, end discrimination and forced labour and allow freedom of association for its 1.3 million migrant workers.
"The direction being taken by Fifa in this sense is welcome, and respects the concerns of people who live for the 'people's game'. We as trade unions maintain our demand: if Qatar does not respond properly, then consequences must follow, and the World Cup be taken from Qatar."
The ITUC has warned that as many as 4,000 migrant workers could die before a ball is kicked in 2022, while a new in-depth Amnesty report last Sunday revealed wide-scale and endemic mistreatment of workers, many of whom are tied to their employer under the kafala system.
Blatter admitted that the situation was "unacceptable" but the Fifa president said publicity generated by the controversial decision to award the World Cup to Qatar in 2022 had helped draw attention to the issue.
"Economic and political leaders must contribute to improving the unacceptable situation in Qatar. That is why I welcome the initiative shown by the DFB [German football federation] and ITUC because together we can achieve change," he said. "I am convinced Qatar is taking the situation very seriously. These very discussions about Qatar show what an important role football can play in generating publicity and thus bringing about change."
Human rights groups including Amnesty and Human Rights Watch are hopeful the international pressure building on the Qatari authorities will lead to concrete action. But they want to see meaningful practical steps,such as an end to the exit visa system that is also keeping French footballer Zahir Belounis trapped in the country, to prove their seriousness.
After meetings with Fifa as long ago as 2011 the Qatari government promised to take action but Amnesty's investigators still found widespread mistreatment of migrant workers by subcontractors effectively engaged in forced labour for major construction groups.
The report, based on two recent investigations in Qatar and scores of interviews, found workers living in squalid, overcrowded accommodation exposed to sewage and sometimes without running water.
It found that many workers, faced with mounting debts and unable to return home, have suffered "severe psychological distress", with some driven to the brink of suicide.
Theo Zwanziger, the German Fifa executive committee member who helped to convene the talks at Fifa's $100m headquarters in Zurich, said: "The aim is to be in a position to report on concrete measures for Qatar at the executive committee meeting in March 2014. Large companies must be reminded of their duties in this area. The international community must also accept its responsibility."
Zwanziger will be handed responsibility for ongoing dialogue with international trade union groups and human rights groups.
"The awarding of the World Cup and the considerable public exposure gives us the opportunity to point out irregularities and to exact lasting change," said Niersbach. "If we succeed, then a lot will have been achieved. It was a matter of priority for us to quickly bring together the International Trade Union Confederation and Fifa as contractual partners for Qatar."
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