"The invisibles", 06 Dec 2022

In the afternoon, Pradip from Mumbai is dispatched to the Al Khalifa Stadium to serve in hospitality, as he did in the VVIP (‘Very, Very Important People’) area of the Al Bayt Stadium. With no days off, he too complains of back pains. At the International Broadcasting Centre, Daniel is standing on his feet for hours in the late afternoon. He has a swollen ankle and spent time at the hospital...

A self-described ‘industrial catering giant’, Qatar Star Services (QSS), the employer of Joseph, Robert and Eliud, is a Fifa partner that in the past also served Qatar University, Georgetown University, Qatar Foundation, Hamad Hospital, and the Amiri Guard...

QSS seems to have an alternative definition of worker welfare. Labour abuses exist in a myriad of shapes and forms in Qatar – passport confiscation, wage abuse, a lack of health care coverage, false claims of absconding and, of course, inhumane long working hours as well as not paying overtime...

...Fifa, the Supreme Committee for Legacy and Delivery and Qatar Star Services did not reply to a request for comment.