16 Aug 2021
Project visas misused to bypass QVC regulations
Summary
Date Reported: 16 Aug 2021
Location: Qatar
Companies
Advanced Management Consultants - Recruiter , Saan Nepal - Recruiter , UrbaCon Trading & Contracting - Employer , FIFA - PartnerProjects
Qatar World Cup 2022 Unspecified Projects - ClientAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Nepal , Construction , Gender not reported )Issues
Recruitment FeesResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited World Cup contractor Urbacon Trading & Contracting and the recruitment agencies named (Saan Nepal and Advanced Management Consultants) as well as FIFA and the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) to respond to the allegations. The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) said that the recent recruitment drives in Nepal by Urbacon Trading & Contracting are not related to any SC projects (Full response can be read on our website by visiting the source link) Urbacon Trading & Contracting has also provided a response (Full response can be read on our website by visiting the source link) Recruitment agencies Saan Nepal and Advanced Management Consultants, and FIFA did not respond.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 16 Aug 2021
Location: Qatar
Companies
Diamond Star Overseas - Recruiter , Al Jaber Engineering - Employer , Al Jaber Group (Qatar) - Employer , Al Jaber Trading & Contracting - Employer , FIFA - PartnerProjects
Qatar World Cup 2022 Unspecified Projects - ClientAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Nepal , Construction , Gender not reported )Issues
Recruitment FeesResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Al Jaber Group, Al Jaber Engineering and the recruitment agency named (Diamond Star Overseas) as well as FIFA and the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) to respond to the allegations. The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy said that the recent recruitment drives in Nepal by Al Jaber Trading & Contracting Company are not related to any SC projects (Full response can be read on our website by visiting the source link) Al Jaber Engineering, Al Jaber Group and recruitment agencies Diamond Star Overseas, as well as FIFA did not respond.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 16 Aug 2021
Location: Qatar
Companies
Galfar Al Misnad - Employer , Grand Shikhar Overseas - Recruiter , FIFA - PartnerProjects
Al Bayt Stadium - ClientAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Nepal , Construction , Gender not reported )Issues
Recruitment FeesResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited World Cup contractor Galfar Al Misnad and the recruitment agency named (Grand Shikhar Overseas) as well as FIFA and the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) to respond to the allegations. The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) said that the recent recruitment drives in Nepal by Galfar Al Misnad are not related to any SC projects (Full response can be read on our website by visiting the source link) Galfar Al Misnad and Grand Shikhar Overseas have provided responses (Full responses can be read on our website by visiting the source link) FIFA didn’t respond.
Source type: NGO
Reports from Nepal reveal an increasing misuse of the project or short-term visas to bypass Qatar Visa Centre (QVC) procedures. Several civil society activists have raised concern over workers being duped with false contracts. The Nepali government does not approve short-term or project visas or contracts, nor does it make it mandatory that workers only process contracts through the QVC, leaving open regulatory gaps that can lead to severe exploitation...
Migrant worker rights specialist Andy Hall has recorded evidence of this practice for several months now. All of the cases he has monitored involve recruitment by major Qatari contracting companies working on FIFA World Cup 2022 projects like Urbacon Trading & Contracting Company (UCC), Al Jaber, and Galfar Al Misnad...
Hall points out that the advertisements for the recruitment of 65 labourers in Qatar (photo above) do not comply with the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy’s (SC) ethical recruitment standards, as contained in chapter six of its Worker Welfare Standards.