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NOS News•today, 01:16
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Several Dutch companies have earned millions on construction projects surrounding the controversial World Cup in Qatar, later this year. This is evident from research by Fidelity. The values of those projects would vary from 1.5 million euros to sometimes tens of millions per project.
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The tournament is controversial because of the human rights situation in the country. The migrant workers who built the World Cup facilities often did so in appalling conditions, resulting in an estimated several thousand deaths. It is not known whether there have been deaths in the Dutch projects, according to Trouw.
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According to the newspaper, the companies would have helped build the airport that Qatar built to welcome millions of World Cup visitors, a new city with a World Cup stadium and two pipelines. Dutch companies were also involved in the construction of a metro system. The companies would have received millions of euros for this, the newspaper says.
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Forced labour
In April this year The World Cup organizers admitted that workers had been exploited in recent years. The organization was responding to a report by human rights organization Amnesty International. After an investigation, the organization stated that security guards were systematically subjected to forced labour. For example, they often worked longer than the maximum 60 hours per week, and sometimes had no day off for months or even years.
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The Guardian has also revealed abuses in Qatar in recent years. According to the British newspaper, at least 6,500 migrant workers have been killed since the 2010 World Cup was awarded, mainly in the construction of stadiums.
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Also watch this report by correspondent Daisy Mohr about working conditions in Qatar:
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Reform or exploitation? This is how it goes with migrant workers in Qatar
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The companies inform Trouw that they are going to Qatar for various reasons. For example, an architect wanted to design dozens of metro stations in Qatar to contribute to change. The company that provides water supplies in stadiums and fan zones wanted to be in Qatar because they thought this was a must.
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Not all companies conducted research into working conditions in Qatar before their arrival.
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Sponsors of the Dutch national team indicated in April that they would not travel to Qatar for the World Cup. For example, ING will not campaign around the tournament, and Albert Heijn will not travel either. KPN, the Dutch Lottery and Bitvavo also do not travel to Qatar.
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