The new secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (C.S.I), Luca Visentinishows his priorities regarding the working conditions of the workers when the term ends. Qatar World Cupin an AFP interview.
A few hours before the quarterfinals, he believes that “it is very difficult to get the public’s attention to the working conditions in the country” during the competition. “The attention is completely focused on the games, so the most important thing is that we make sure that, after this, we continue to put pressure on the Qatari authorities and businessmen.”
A unique development in the Gulf was the removal of the ‘kafala’ system, which made employees the property of their employer. “It was legally removed, but there are still big problems with the implementation” of this measure, according to Visentini.
In particular, there are still “many cases of non-payment of wages and enormous obstacles for workers who want to change employers,” explained the general secretary of the ITUC, who was elected in November as head of the organization that brings together 332 unions from in 163 countries.
“There were many problems in Russia 2018 and South Africa 2010, but not on the same scale as in Qatar, where people died” and where there were forms of “labour slavery,” he said. Despite everything, Luca Visentini congratulates himself on the “relatively revolutionary” opening of an International Labor Organization (ILO) office in the country.
Scheduled FIFA meetings
Together with the International Football Federation (FIFA) and other sports organizations, he hopes to “create some kind of framework” so that the upcoming World Cup and other major sporting events are “fair and guarantee respect for the workers and human rights.”
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
