ILO: The ILO says Qatar has not reported all work-related deaths

The small but affluent Gulf country where foreigners make up the majority of the population faces scrutiny of workers’ conditions before hosting the 2022 World Cup in November next year.

According to the International Labor Organization, data collected in government-run trauma centers and ambulances in 2020 showed that 50 workers died and more than 500 were seriously injured.

The report said: “Most of them are migrant workers from Bangladesh, India and Nepal, mainly engaged in the construction industry. Falling from heights and road traffic accidents are the main causes of serious injuries, followed by falling objects on construction sites.”

The International Labor Organization said that because the authorities did not classify all work-related deaths into this category, including unexplained deaths of healthy workers and deaths related to high temperatures, the number may be even higher.

Max Tunon, the head of the ILO’s Qatar office, told Reuters that this data gap should be resolved through better injury investigations.

In August, Amnesty International criticized Qatar for failing to investigate thousands of unexplained deaths.

A widely reported February analysis by the Guardian concluded that 6,500 South Asian immigrants have died in Qatar since 2010. However, Tunon warned that the death data of Qatari workers are often reported without the necessary nuances.

“this [Guardian’s] The figures include all deaths in the immigrant population… There is no distinction between immigrant workers and the general immigrant population, let alone the number of deaths due to work-related injuries,” the International Labor Organization said.

Qatar has introduced a number of labor reforms in recent years, including stricter regulations designed to protect workers from high temperatures and raise minimum wages.

The Government Information Office of Qatar stated: “No other country has made such progress in labor reform in such a short period of time, but we acknowledge that there is more work to be done,” adding that it is reviewing the ILO’s recommendations.