According to ILO, World Cup 2022: Qatar incomplete investigation of deaths at work
The report said Qatar was incompletely investigating and reporting worker deaths, and called for “better and more accurate data collection, with more efforts to investigate investigate possibly work-related injuries and deaths but are not currently classified as such.”
Data from health organizations providing acute care to injured workers in Qatar shows 50 workers have died in 2020 and more than 500 are seriously injured, ILO’s comprehensive report on the number of cases work-related deaths and injuries in the country showed.
According to the report, 37,600 workers suffered mild to moderate injuries in 2020.
The ILO said in a statement on the report, “Most of the damage was caused by migrant workers from Bangladesh, India and Nepal, mainly in the construction industry”.
According to the ILO, migrant workers make up 95% of Qatar’s workforce.
“Falls from heights and road traffic accidents are the leading causes of serious injury, followed by falling objects on construction sites,” the ILO said.
The report calls for a review of “the approach taken to investigate the deaths of apparently healthy young workers from ‘natural causes’, so that they can be determined if they are indeed work-related.” or not and ensure a more precise determination of the cause.”
“There is concern as to whether a large number of worker deaths are caused by heat stress and whether these are not correctly identified as work-related. no,” it added.
The Qatari Ministry of Labor said in a statement that “reported figures in the media on deaths of migrant workers have been seriously skewed.”
“The government has been transparent about the health of our expatriates and in fact the death rate in Qatar is on par with the broader demographic globally. However, improving health and well-being of foreign workers remains the top priority,” the ministry added.
Qatar has introduced reforms to its labor structure, scrapping the controversial Kafala funding system and introducing a minimum wage of $275/month that applies to both migrant workers as well as helping workers. domestic work, which they claim is the first of its kind in the area. .
The ILO notes that occupational injury rates have fallen significantly between 2008 and 2016 which the ministry says demonstrates “robust labor reform legislation”.
“Labor reform is a complex task and Qatar believes that solutions are best found through dialogue and participation,” the statement added.
“For this reason, Qatar will continue to work constructively with a wide range of labor professionals and practitioners – including the ILO, trade unions and international NGOs – to build on progress has been made.”