Qatar deports migrant workers after wage protest

Agencies | Doha                                                                             

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Qatar has deported migrant workers who protested about unpaid wages, as the country prepares for the football World Cup in November.

At least 60 workers rallied outside Al Bandary International Group's Doha offices on 14 August — some reportedly had not been paid for seven months.

A number of protesters were detained and some were deported, although it's not known how many.

The government said those who were deported had "breached security laws".

Since Qatar was awarded the World Cup in 2010 — sparking a wave of construction of stadiums and infrastructure across the country — its treatment of migrant workers has been questioned.

The Al Bandary International Group company is predominantly a construction and engineering company.

It is not known whether the workers were involved in the World Cup preparations, and the organizing committee declined to comment.

But in a statement to the BBC, the Qatari government confirmed that a number of workers who took part in the rare protest in Doha had been detained for breaching public security laws.

It is understood that a minority of those "who failed to remain peaceful" face deportation, and rights groups say some have already left the country.

The Qatari government said it would pay all delayed salaries and benefits to the affected workers.

The government said the Al Bandary group was already under investigation for not paying its workers, and further action is being taken after a deadline to settle payments had been missed.

The workers who protested were from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Egypt and the Philippines.

A spokesperson for the government's World Cup organizing committee declined to comment on the Al Bandary protest. The Al Bandary group did not respond to a request for comment.

The Qatari government said 96% of eligible workers in Qatar are covered by a wage protection system, which obliges employers to transfer all wages through Qatari banks within seven days of their due date, and that gaps in the system were being identified.