The subsidiary Vinci construction grands projets has just been indicted on Wednesday 9 November 2022 by a judge in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine), as part of an investigation into the working conditions of employees at some construction sites in Qatar, reports Agence. France presse (AFP). The company is accused of “working or living conditions incompatible with human dignity”, explains the group’s lawyer, Me Jean-Pierre Versini-Campinchi. The complaints were filed by NGOs and former employees of India and Nepal.
Vinci claims to have respected the “human rights”
In a recent press release, dated November 7, 2022, before his indictment, Vinci once again denied “the challenges related to working conditions on its construction sites in Qatar”. “The group has demonstrated on many occasions and in a concrete way […] that respect for human rights, as well as health and safety at work, have been a priority for its teams since the creation in 2007 of the Qatari company Diar Vinci Construction (QDVC). In terms of safety, QDVC’s statistics are at least equivalent to those of the Group’s own activities in Europe, including the company’s subcontractors “claimed.
Which yards are affected? Those of the “light rail” that connects Doha to Lusail, the new city that will host the World Cup final, the underground car parks in Lusail and the luxurious Sheraton hotel in Doha. The first complaint was filed in 2015, rejected in 2018. New complaints with civil action by the Sherpa and Committee against Modern Slavery (CCEM) associations, as well as Indian and Nepalese employees of these sites, led to the opening of an investigation by an investigating judge in November 2019.
