Exploitation of Construction Workers on World Cup Sites in Russia. Summary. Russia will host the next FIFA World Cup, from June 1. July 1. 5, 2. 01. Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. Mega- sporting events are a source of national pride for the Russian government, and it invests heavily in their success. Tens of thousands of workers are building the stadiums and infrastructure necessary for hosting of the World Cup.
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These workers often face exploitation, poor working conditions, and little recourse for abuses. These are long- standing issues that have been well- documented by Human Rights Watch and others before Russia was selected to host the World Cup. Yet the Russian government has not done enough to monitor and curb abusive practices in the construction sector and hold employers accountable. The world’s top 3. World Cup will play matches organized in 1. Russia: Moscow (two stadiums), St.
Petersburg, Ekaterinburg, Sochi, Kaliningrad, Saransk, Samara, Rostov- on- Don, Volgograd, Kazan, and Nizhnii Novgorod. To host the World Cup, Russia has built or renovated 1. For the first time ever, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the international governing body of association football, has instituted, together with the Russian officials responsible for the World Cup, a program to monitor labor conditions on World Cup stadium sites. FIFA has told Human Rights Watch that monitors conducted 5. June 2. 01. 7. Additional joint monitoring involving FIFA, Russian officials, and trade unions began in August 2.
However, Human Rights Watch’s investigation suggests that FIFA’s existing labor monitoring system may not be effective. In response to Human Rights Watch’s inquiry, FIFA sent a letter to Human Rights Watch providing details about the methodology, frequency and other technical aspects of its monitoring program.
The letter said that during the course of the monitoring there had been reductions in “inconsistencies and incompliances.” The letter provided two examples in which FIFA said it resolved specific issues revealed by the monitoring process. Beyond these two examples, the letter did not provide any substantive details about the results of the monitoring, such as the specific types of violations, where violations took place, or if or how violations were remedied and the results of those remedial actions, or any other relevant information. FIFA has not otherwise disclosed or made such information publicly available. Watch The Shadow Online Facebook. In addition, FIFA’s program is limited. It began well after much of the World Cup construction was underway, covers only stadiums and no other World Cup infrastructure, and with respect to methodology, employers are notified in advance of any inspections. Watch Revelation Road: The Beginning Of The End Online here. Human Rights Watch visited seven World Cup stadium sites in 2. We documented the exploitation of construction workers, including: non- payment of wages; three- to four- month delays in payment of wages; workers required to work outdoors in dangerously cold temperatures well below freezing; and a failure to provide work contracts and other documentation required for legal employment.
Building and Wood Workers’ International, a global trade union, reported 1. World Cup stadium sites. The St. Petersburg Stadium, a 2. Watch Once Upon A Time In The West Instanmovie.
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Confederations Cup and 2. World Cup venue in St. Petersburg, Russia, under construction in July 2. Semyon Simonov for Human Rights Watch During its research, Human Rights Watch consistently encountered an atmosphere of intimidation, suspicion, and secrecy when trying to document conditions for workers on World Cup sites. In the most serious case, local police detained a Human Rights Watch research consultant as he tried to speak to workers outside of the Volgograd Arena. Authorities addressed the representative by name, which suggests that he was under surveillance. Security officers outside of the St.
Petersburg Stadium urged workers not to speak with Human Rights Watch’s representative. Numerous workers declined to be interviewed or insisted on anonymity out of fear of retaliation from their employers, who had threatened them with dismissal or deportation for discussing worksite concerns. Workers told Human Rights Watch they face retaliation or threats of retaliation for raising concerns about labor conditions. Hundreds of workers at World Cup sites have organized strikes to protest abusive labor practices from 2. In Rostov- on- Don, the authorities arrested and deported dozens of migrant workers from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan who had participated in strikes, after allegedly finding irregularities in their employer- provided contracts. The Volgograd Arena, a 2.
World Cup venue in Volgograd, Russia, under construction in April 2. Semyon Simonov for Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch interviewed Russian nationals, including some who had migrated internally for jobs in World Cup construction, as well as migrant workers from other countries. During research in 2. Human Rights Watch documented serious abuses of migrant workers on the Fisht Stadium in Sochi, built for the 2. Winter Olympic Games, and to be used also for the 2. World Cup. The types of exploitation and abuse of workers described in this report are pervasive in Russia’s construction industry.
Human Rights Watch extensively documented the same types of abuses during Russia’s preparations for the Sochi 2. Winter Olympics, and raised these concerns with the International Olympic Committee and the Russian authorities for nearly five years. A large- scale Russian government labor inspection into workers’ rights on Olympic construction sites, undertaken after substantial pressure, two months before the Games, uncovered over US$8. Sochi sites. It remains unclear how many of those workers ever recovered the wages owed to them for their contribution to Russia’s mega sports projects. International and Russian media, as well as trade unions, have also documented serious concerns on World Cup sites, including deaths and serious injuries. They have also documented the same labor concerns identified in this report regarding non- payment of wages, retaliation against workers who complain, and the failure to provide written employment contracts.
The lack of employment contracts leaves workers vulnerable to exploitation and leaves them with little legal recourse: any such worker will have difficulty proving employment relations before a court, and therefore difficulty obtaining redress for abuse. Without a written employment contract, migrant workers’ employment status is irregular, putting them at risk of deportation and often making them reluctant to seek assistance from the authorities in the event of abuse. Despite worker strikes, media and trade union reports of worker deaths, serious injuries and other concerns on World Cup construction sites, the FIFA leadership has consistently praised the Russian government’s preparations in public statements and has not spoken out about human rights concerns related to World Cup construction in Russia, except in response to media inquiries. Human Rights Watch calls on the Russian government to put an end to the widespread worker rights violations in the construction sector, through rigorous inspections and accountability for employers who exploit and abuse workers.
A high- level public message of zero tolerance for worker abuse would send a strong message through the industry. The authorities should also refrain from punishing migrant workers, including through deportations, for the unscrupulous practices of employers. The authorities should inform workers of their rights, including effective mechanisms to file complaints without retaliation.
Human Rights Watch urges FIFA to increase significantly transparency about all aspects of the new labor conditions monitoring program, in order to ensure credibility, accountability, and meaningful labor rights improvements.