Another strike over unpaid wages at 2018 World Cup stadium in Russia

Turkish migrant workers working on the construction of the 2018 World Cup stadium in Rostov on Don went on strike over unpaid wages at the end of May. Hundreds of workers stopped their work and demanded their employer to pay back their wages. The regional government in Rostov on Don had to interfere in the conflict and force the main contractor Krocus Group to pay back the wages in a few days. 

The strike on the 2018 World Cup stadium in Rostov on Don is the third strike due to unpaid wages since the beginning of this year: in March construction workers on Luzhniki stadium in Moscow and 2018 World Cup stadium in Nizhniy Novgorod started a strike after two months of wage arrears. 

“We are seriously concerned with the situation of unpaid wages of workers working on the 2018 World Cup projects in Russia,” stated Ambet Yuson, General Secretary of BWI. He continued, “It is important that all stakeholders involved in the preparations including FIFA should work to ensure labour rights in all projects related to the 2018 World Cup, specifically to make sure that workers are paid on time and that they are provided with employment contracts and safe working conditions.”