Amnesty International calls on Qatar to improve conditions of foreign labor

Coronavirus infections are rising in Qatar due to the misguided policies followed by Qatari health authorities in dealing with the coronavirus crisis.

The Qatari capital, Doha, has become a hotspot of the disease, opening the door for major losses for Qatar.

Qatari authorities are now trying to solve the crisis by doing nothing other than kicking foreign workers out of the county. Qatari employers have been putting the foreign workers in tough work conditions and refusing to pay their salaries for several months now.

This brings the file of Qatar's violations against foreign workers back to the surface. Amnesty International referred previously to violations committed against foreign workers implementing FIFA World Cup projects in Qatar.

The organization said recently that Qatar had overlooked repeated calls for improving the conditions of foreign workers.

Some of the workers, it said, had not received their salaries for seven months.

It added that 100,000 workers of the Qatar Metal Coats Company which makes the facades of the sports facilities constructed for the World Cup keep waiting to get their financial dues.

Amnesty International quoted some foreign workers as saying that they paid between $900 and 2,000 for employment agents in their countries to help them travel to Qatar for work.

It held Qatari authorities responsible for the problems faced by the foreign workers.

Amnesty International said foreign workers face additional problems in Qatar, including arrest, deportation and deprivation from the renewal of their residence permits.