International trade unionists inspecting the plight of migrant labour in Qatar today urged immediate "bolder" steps by the 2022 football World Cup host country to protect workers, mostly Asians.
Evidence has shown that a "decent work deficit remains widespread and a climate of fear persists," said a statement from the Building and Wood Worker's International (BWI) federation, whose 18-member team today concluded a four-day mission to the gas-rich state.
The situation is "not acceptable", it said.
The team of inspectors from nine European and two Asian countries found "disturbing evidence of wrong practices and gathered testimonies about the violations of internationally accepted norms of labour standards", the statement said.
The mission met many workers from Nepal, India, Bangladesh and the Philippines who spoke of the lack of medical care and their inability to lodge official complaints.
Current measures by the Qatari authorities to protect foreign workers "are insufficient to address the overarching structural problems," said BWI.
"Bolder steps are needed now, not in the future."
Qatar has come under mounting pressure to end exploitation of migrant workers as it embarks on a multi-billion-dollar construction programme for the 2022 football World Cup.
"Plans and reforms presented by the authorities lack the urgency needed in this situation," the BWI statement said.
British daily The Guardian last month said 44 Nepalese workers have died on World Cup construction sites in Qatar.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has slammed as "weak and disappointing" Qatar's response to media claims that Nepalese workers were treated as slaves.
The head of Qatar's National Human Rights Committee, Ali Al-Marri, last week admitted there were some problems but denied claims of Nepalese being treated like "slaves".
The union body says Qatar's labour ministry received 6,000 worker complaints in 2012, while the Indian embassy there received 1,500 complaints in the first five months of this year.
