Football is the most popular sport in the world. According to FIFA, half of the world population enjoys with world cup. Since last one and half decades, FIFA is showing some concern about the workers right who produce football, sportswear and stadium as well as provide necessary services during the events.
In this regards, ITUC and some of the global union are working with them since 199&. As first step, targeting 2002 world cup, FIFA together with ITGLWF conducted a campaign for not to use child labor in football production, focusing in Pakistan and India.
After that even clean cloth campaign joined the campaign targeting the world cup 2006 in Germany and requested FIFA not to use sportswear brands, which produced with exploited workers sweat and blood.
Arriving in 2010 in South Africa, the issue of construction workers came up on lime line. BWI started campaign to respect fundamental workers’ right at the construction site with the slogan “Decent work towards and beyond 2010”. Protesting the violation of workers right 25 strike had happened there.
As result of having trade union representative in local organizing committee and strong union movement, finally the workers right was respected and even 40 thousands ticket was distributed to construction workers as the symbol of dignifying their contribution to make event successful.
Now, the campaign has been shifted to Brazil, where next world cup will be organized in 2014. Constructions workers have already had Sao Paulo declaration regarding decent working condition in construction site and have declared that they will conduct nationwide strike next months, if the issues will not be responded in time.
Fortunately, all these countries have active trade union movement, which was supportive to make campaign fruitful. After the Brazil, the venues for next world cup have been selected for Russia in 2018 and then Qatar for 2022.
Qatar has become a concern of the Nepali trade union as well, because of countable number of Nepali migrant are working there in construction site, under harsh condition. The number of migrant workers to Qatar is escalating; just because more infrastructures are needed for world cup and 99 percent of workers in construction site are foreigners. Among the foreigner, Nepali are considered as hardworking, honest, cheap and voiceless.
According to foreign employment department, higher number of Nepali migrant are heading to Qatar, as first destination country even leaving Malaysia back, caused by high demand of worker in construction site relating with world cup.
If we see the glumly side of the migrant situation in Qatar, about 200 death bodies are coming back home annually, mainly because of stress caused by employers’ cheating. Rest is by road and workplace accident. Every day, at least 20 complains are filling in the embassy and 10 are returning back before completing the contract. When the workers number will be increased, the casualty as well as the workers problem will also be increased automatically.
Since the BWI is escalating the campaign in construction site, we as trade union of the sending country, should have responsibility toward our own workers and need to join hand for campaign. We should understand that Qatar case is different than other country. They do not have labor law and functional trade union. Almost all construction workers are migrants, with low level of education and awareness about international labor standard. Being in the foreign land having low-skill, they do not have bargaining power.
In this situation state should take responsibility to protect its own citizen. But, unfortunately we as whole nation in going through political transition and government do not have capacity to do better monitoring and bargaining as well.
Taking migrant workers right into consideration, ITUC and BWI have started joint campaign in Qatar and GEFONT has joined this with feeling of responsibility of sending country, from beginning of 2012. It has participated the meeting with FIFA first time on February 7, in FIFA headquarter in Zurich together with ITUC, BWI and ILO. The meeting was attended by Tim Noonan, Jeffrey Vogt from ITUC, Tos Anonuevo and jin Sook Lee from BWI, and myself from GEFONT, Eric Gravel from ILO HQ and Federico Addiechi (CSR head) and Jorg Vollmuller (commercial legal head) from FIFA side.
The meeting was started with participants’ introduction, followed by FIFA presentation. It was quite understood that FIFA’s first and ultimate goal is to conduct the event successfully and is not its mandate to impose something in the host country such as ratification or compiling the labor standard, but it can request for this and add workers right provision as pre condition for selection of venue and making workers hiring contract.
Organizing the event, FIFA is overall responsible and have tradition to form Local organizing committee (LOC) for managing the logistic and insure government guarantee for practical arrangement like immigration, working permission, infrastructure, construction, security, working condition etc. which is not possible without full support and cooperation of government of the host country, Jorg explained as lawyer.
Normally, the LOC is not much government controlled, but in Qatar, it is different as having supreme committee led by Royal family, where the LOC chair is serving as general secretary. Qatar is connecting this event even with vision 2030, to make one of the popular cities of the world. Then, the representative of ILO Eric Gravel explained about the ILO core conventions and states role and responsibility to respect and implement this.
Looking back to the previous campaign, Child labor issue has been addressed and been more seen, the working condition in sportswear companies has been improved, working condition has been improved in construction side are the achievements, where local movement has played major role and FIFA and ITUC support was highly valued. Considering the importance joint campaign to make event more moral and decent working condition, the meeting has decided to continue it.
In the day to come, FIFA will coordinate the meeting among local organizing committee and trade union in Brazil. Similarly, the ITUC meeting with supreme committee in Qatar will be initiated by FIFA in the day to come. In the process of bidding for more labor, FIFA might ask to include fare working condition.
We believe on collective effort and slogan have been coined “Together we can make different.” Let see, how much we can make and realized it in life.
February, 2012