The Qatar 2022 World Cup holds a special place in history as arguably one of the best tournaments of all time – but also one of its most controversial. Although the final game was a masterclass of what the “beautiful game” has to offer, culminating in a penalty shootout victory for Argentina, the spectacle was often overshadowed by debate about the host country. After all, Qatar – a small petrostate home to 2.6 million people and only 300,000 citizens – swooped up seemingly out of nowhere to outbid the U.S. for the right to host, despite the U.S. being far more readymade given its existing infrastructure. This placed a large spotlight on the plight of migrant workers in Qatar, many of whom were required to labor long hours in extreme heat to build the necessary infrastructure from scratch. In response to the criticism, Qatar – in collaboration with the International Labor Organization (ILO) – implemented groundbreaking labor reforms at home and across the Gulf Region. This article looks at the key reforms and highlights four takeaways for employers with workforces in Gulf Countries.
Backlash Leads to Reforms
The impetus for the labor reforms began in 2014 when International Trade Unions filed a complaint to the ILO against the State of Qatar alleging the country violated the Forced Labor Convention. The ILO subsequently voted to open an investigation into working conditions of migrant workers in Qatar building World Cup stadiums in 2015. According to the ILO, an estimated...
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