Fifty migrant workers died in Qatar last year and over 500 were seriously injured, finds the UN’s International Labour Organization’s (ILO) report, as the Gulf country prepares to host World Cup 2022.
The ILO report, entitled “One is too many”, comes amid criticism of working conditions in Qatar for hundreds of thousands of migrant workers including those who built the stadiums for the World Cup.
There were 506 recorded severe injuries, an average of 42 a month, with 37,600 people suffering mild to moderate injuries, explains the report.
The newly issued report says that the top cause of fatalities fell, with most happening at the workplace.
“Severe occupational injuries were most commonly caused by falls, followed by road traffic injuries, falling objects, and machinery,” states ILOS’ report.
Most were suffered by migrant workers from Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, mainly in the construction industry, according to the report.
The UN’s organization says numbers could be higher as authorities do not classify all work-related deaths as such, including unexplained deaths among healthy workers and heat-related fatalities.
“That data gap should be addressed, with better injury investigations,” Max Tunon, head of the ILO’s Qatar office, told Reuters.
A widely reported Guardian newspaper analysis in February concluded 6500 South Asian migrants had died in Qatar since 2010.
However, ILO said that the Guardian’s number includes all deaths in the migrant population, without differentiation between migrant workers and the general migrant population, let alone fatalities that resulted from occupational injuries.
More than two million foreigners work in Qatar, many employed directly or indirectly on vast infrastructure projects for the World Cup.
The Gulf country has introduced several labor reforms since being selected to host the World Cup, including tougher rules designed to protect workers from heat and raising the minimum wage.
Qatar welcomed the ILO report saying it reflected its commitment to transparency on labor rights, as it “highly values” its collaboration with the UN’s organization.
“Qatar… will continue working with the ILO to ensure that labor reforms are implemented effectively and that Qatar is continuously improving labor practices and increasing safety for all workers,” a government statement read.
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