Most World Cup fans back compensation for Qatar migrant workers —poll

NICOSIA, Cyprus — A majority of World Cup fans support FIFA compensating migrant workers for rights abuses during preparations for the 2022 tournament in Qatar, a poll commissioned by Amnesty International and released on Thursday showed. advertisement Qatar has repeatedly faced criticism over conditions for migrant workers, but insists it has made major improvements in recent years. The YouGov poll surveyed more than 17,000 adults from 15 countries—mostly in Europe, but also the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Morocco and Kenya, Amnesty said in a statement. Seventy-three percent of respondents said they "strongly support" or "tend to support" football's governing body using some of its 2022 World Cup revenues to compensate migrant workers, according to the figures. Out of those who said they were likely to watch at least one game, 84 percent backed the proposal."There is still time for FIFA to do the right thing," Amnesty's Steve Cockburn said in a statement calling on it "to set up a remediation program...before the tournament kicks off" on November 20. "Supporters don't want a World Cup that's indelibly tainted by human rights abuses," Cockburn added. In response, FIFA said it took note of the poll but cautioned that "respondents may not be fully aware of the measures implemented in recent years by FIFA and its partners in Qatar to protect workers involved in the delivery of the FIFA World Cup." "Workers have been compensated in various forms where companies failed to uphold the workers’ welfare standards," it said in a statement. "FIFA will continue its efforts to enable remediation for workers who may have been adversely impacted in relation to FIFA World Cup-related work." Qatar has faced accusations of under-reporting deaths and injuries among migrant workers and of not doing enough to alleviate harsh conditions. Unpaid wages have also been frequently raised. The Qatari government has highlighted major reforms it has introduced, including a minimum wage, dismantling a scheme that gave employers stringent rights over laborers, and imposing stricter rules on working in the summer heat. In an interview with French magazine Le Point, Qatar's ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said he was proud of the measures the emirate had taken to safeguard workers' welfare. "We understood that we had a problem with work on construction sites and we took strong measures in record time," the emir said in only his third interview since he took the throne in 2013. "We have changed the law and we are punishing anybody who abuses an employee. We have opened our doors to non-governmental organizations and we are cooperating with them. We are proud of it." — Agence France-Presse

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more