Belgium: Unions and football association agree to a platform to monitor Qatar’s migrant workers

BWI’s Belgian trade union affiliates FGTB and CSC BiE on 7 June met with the Royal Belgian Football Association (URBSFA) in Brussels to discuss ways on how the latter can help in promoting migrant workers’ rights and improving their working and living conditions, especially those working in Qatar. 

The trade unions sat down with URBSFA CEO Peter Bossaert and discussed the latest updates on Qatar’s migrant workers, 17 months before the 2022 World Cup is held in the country. They called on the football association to take a pro-active role in drawing international public attention to the situation of migrant workers and promoting migrant workers’ rights and welfare. 

It was decided that a platform will be created comprised of the football association, trade unions and human rights groups to keep all stakeholders informed of the latest developments on migrant workers, particularly those employed in Qatar. 

The trade unions said that they have been monitoring the situation in Qatar since 2010. After several campaigns have been carried out to improve the working and living conditions of migrant workers, a number of significant reforms have been made in Qatar, such as the abolition of the Kafala system and the introduction of a minimum wage.

The unions reminded all that the labour reforms won in Qatar must last beyond he 2022 World Cup and be applied universally.