Qatar: Amnesty International confirms receipt of 6 thousand complaints by foreign workers

New research by Amnesty International has shed light on the suffering experienced by hundreds of foreign workers in Qatar who are still waiting to be paid, even after authorities committed themselves to improving the situation of foreigners.

Amnesty International's report, “All work, no pay: The struggle of Qatar's migrant workers for justice”, revealed that hundreds of foreign workers at three construction and cleaning companies in Qatar have been desperate for justice. The report found many have returning home since March 2018. These revelations come even after Qatari authorities established new committees to resolve existing litigation. These committees last year received more than 6,000 complaints that remained unresolved.

Since March 2018, Amnesty International has been following the cases of more than two thousand workers at Hamton International WLL, Hamad Bin Khaled Bin Hamad, and the United Cleaning Company. Workers at these companies are seeking justice after being deprived of their rights and the payment of salaries withheld months before being fired.

As many as 1620 of these workers lodged complaints with specialized committees established by Qatar in March 2018 as part of the reforms it undertook to carry out in collaboration with Amnesty International.

While some managed to get some of their money, the majority eventually left Qatar without obtaining justice or compensation according to the report of the organization.