600 Indian labourers building Qatar World Cup stadiums facing tough times

More than 600 labourers from India, who are in Qatar for construction work ahead of the 2022 football
World Cup, are living under harsh conditions after being denied salary for six months, Hindustan Times reported on Monday.

They are living in a cramped, dirty and unsafe accommodation, reported Amnesty International. These labourers building stadiums in the Gulf country are often left at the mercy of charitable organisations. 

The workers are having a harrowing experience in the wake of a financial crisis that hit Qatari firm HKH General Contracting Company, which had reportedly employed 1,200 workers for the 2022 World Cup. 

The Indian embassy started looking into the matter after 25 workers complained against late salaries, reported Hindustan Times.  “The ministry has assured us all humanitarian assistance," an Indian official told media. 

A London-based consultancy firm, Impactt, said long working hours remained a problem for many of the 18,500 workers at projects overseen by Qatar's World Cup organisers. 

"At eight of 19 contractors, these non-compliances were critical, as working hours exceeded 72 per week and overtime exceeded two hours per day," Impactt said in a report.

Nearly 300 workers have been provided work in other companies while some have already been brought back, Hindustan Times reported. 

There have been reports that 1,200 migrant workers have died in Qatar and up to 4,000 could perish before the World Cup begins, figures vehemently denied by the Gulf country.  

Earlier, an Indian worker died at the construction site of the Al-Bayt 2022 World Cup Stadium after suffering a cardiac arrest.